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Teaching science in the Colonial Era: knowledge weaponization and cultural integration from Europe to the Jesuit missions

Project description

The role of science in European culture and its interaction with other cultures

In the 17th century, Jesuit missionaries embarked on missions to China and North America to spread religious beliefs and teach science. By comparing the teaching methods used by the Jesuits during their missions, it’s possible to shed light on the fusion of religious and cultural motives. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the TESCCO project will conduct this research. Its comparative study aims to reveal the profound philosophical reevaluation of science's role in Europe during that era. By intertwining the history of science, science teaching, philosophy, and sociology, TESCCO bridges the gap between scientific development and colonial domination strategies, highlighting the link between knowledge and power.

Objective

The TESCCO project aims at offering a comparative study on the methods for teaching science implemented by the Jesuits at the end of the 17th century during their missions in China and North America, to show that the harmonization between religious motives and motives connected to cultural dissemination found in their activities couldn’t have been possible without a serious and wider philosophical reassessment of the role of science and its teaching throughout Europe. This study will cast a new light on the domination strategies adopted during the Colonial Era, connecting consistently for the first time the scientific developments of the early modern period with the many attempts of subjugation and cultural appropriation made at that time on behalf of a (supposed) superior and exclusive knowledge. The interdisciplinarity of this project, which combines the history of science and science teaching, history of philosophy, and sociology is further complemented by a theoretical part that aims at rising awareness of the overlooked connection between the foundation of science and how it is taught to others. By promoting a healthy distinction between raw scientific data and the historical context in which it has been collected, the TESCCO project has the ambition of becoming relevant nowadays as a starting point for a discussion on the role of science as a by-product of the European culture and on how this assumption is seen in the exchanges with other cultures.
This project, hosted by Ca' Foscari University of Venice and by the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University, will be crucial to expanding my knowledge and my expertise as a researcher, thanks to the collaboration with my supervisors and the exchange with other researchers involved in ground-breaking projects on early modern science. It will also be a fundamental step in the development of my career, helping me obtain a permanent position at Ca' Foscari University or another European institution.

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 288 859,20
Address
DORSODURO 3246
30123 VENEZIA
Italy

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Region
Nord-Est Veneto Venezia
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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Partners (3)

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