The Social Sciences Forum presents the Human Context of Science and Technology Program Lecture, featuring Alison Wylie, Professor, Canada Research Chair (Tier I), Philosophy of the Social and Historical Sciences, Department of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, who will speak on Collaborative Practice in Archaeology: Why Human Context Matters.

Archaeology may seem an unlikely place for community-based collaborative research to take root but, in fact, it has a rich tradition of public engagement, and in settler-colonial contexts it is being transformed by powerful and insistent demands to decolonize its practice. Bearing in mind the challenge posed by Tuck and Yang – that “decolonization is not a metaphor” — Wylie explores the question of what’s required to do archaeological research in the context of ethical and respectful, community-led partnerships with Indigenous descent communities.

Alison Wylie’s areas of specialization are philosophy of the social and historical sciences, feminist philosophy of science, history and philosophy of archaeology, and ethics issues in the social sciences. Most fundamentally she is curious about how inquiry succeeds under non-ideal conditions, and how we can best adjudicate the knowledge claims we rely on. Her research is case-based, and focused on questions about the nature of evidence, ideals of objectivity, the role of values in science, and issues of accountability in science. She also publishes on equity issues in philosophy and the sciences.

Admission is free.

Organized by the Human Context of Science & Technology program. Co-sponsored by the departments of American Studies; Ancient Studies; Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies; Philosophy; Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health; and the Center for Social Science Scholarship.

Photo courtesy of Alison Wylie.