IFK Postdoctoral Researcher Damien Droney is a scholar of African studies and science and technology studies. His book manuscript, Weedy Science: The Meaning of Science in Postcolonial Ghana, describes the values and connotations associated with “science” as a set of practices, knowledges, and professions in Ghana’s vibrant herbal medicine sector. Ghana is home to a lucrative herbal medicine industry, an internationally recognized herbal medicine research center, and Africa’s first university program in herbal medicine. Droney approaches this as an opportunity to analyze the vocation of science outside of Europe and North America. While many historical accounts emphasize industrialization, militarization, and neoliberalism as major trends affecting the vocation of science in the twentieth century, studying it from Ghana highlights experiences of colonialism, independence, and structural adjustment. This study therefore contributes to global histories of science by examining the values that make a career in science meaningful in postcolonial Africa.
Over twenty months of ethnographic research, Droney followed the graduates of a university Bachelor of Science program in herbal medicine through their education, internships, and employment. Droney found that the vocation of science was shaped by personal and political projects of class, race, and nation. In mid-twentieth century Ghana, a career in science was seen as contributing to the building of a middle class, the demonstration of Black excellence, and the establishment of Ghanaian sovereignty. The failure of scientific institutions to deliver on the development promises of independence-era Ghana means that they are now a venue for reworking these very projects.
Related IFK Courses
- KNOW 21407: The Vocation of a Scientist (Fall 2017)
- KNOW 21410: Politics of Technoscience in Africa (Winter 2018)
- KNOW 21414: What is Technology? (Spring 2018)
Related Readings
What Can Marvel’s Black Panther Tell Viewers about Science and Technology in Africa?