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

Project Information

TESCCO

Grant agreement ID: 101106803

DOI

10.3030/101106803

EC signature date 26 April 2023

Start date 1 October 2023

End date 30 September 2026

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 288 859,20

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TESCCO (Teaching science in the Colonial Era: knowledge weaponization and cultural integration from Europe to the Jesuit missions)

Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2025-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Human cultures have always defined their identity in relation to and in opposition to other cultures. Through this comparison, different cultures are often perceived as culturally worthy or not, which can justify practices of subjugation, domination, and repulsion when indigenous cultures are deemed unworthy. During the Colonial Era, there was a fundamental shift in how cultural worthiness was determined by the Western world. Colonists and missionaries, in light of new scientific discoveries, no longer saw themselves solely as bringers of a superior religious truth but also as bringers of superior and scientifically proven knowledge. Cultural worthiness was then determined based on how well the minds of the natives could comprehend these new concepts.
Project TESCCO seeks to recover data on the process of subjugation, which involved a distorted application of science. Through a comparative study of how science was taught and perceived in the Jesuit missions in China and North America, the project reveals different strategies of subjugation, discrimination, and cultural appropriation.
By shedding light on these processes, project TESCCO can facilitate integration with cultures that now view science not as a universal endeavor but as a specific aspect of Western culture used for domination. This shift will lead to a new global and decentralized history of science that is more aware of the risks inherent in its distorted use.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project involved collecting data by studying Jesuit journals documenting their missions in China and North America, reports in European journals, and private writings of prominent political figures of the time. This data was primarily gathered in Rome and Boston, thanks to the numerous archives in Rome and the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies in Boston.
Collaboration with researchers worldwide was also crucial, particularly in discussing the role of science and its history, especially when it was perceived as uniquely European.
Some of the project’s key achievements include:

Identification of a New Source: The project discovered an unpublished manuscript from Francesco Bianchini, stored at the Biblioteca Vallicelliana in Rome, providing a fundamental new source on the political strategy of the Roman Church both within and outside Europe at that time.

Reconstruction of a New Political Framework: The project reconstructed a new political framework that reveals the impossibility of understanding the work of scientists as solely driven by their desire for truth. Instead, it shows that their work was intrinsically linked to the emerging political power of European nations.

Confirmation of Cultural Appropriation Practices: The project confirmed that the practices of cultural appropriation in China at that time led the Jesuits to an apparent reevaluation of their ancient culture. However, it also placed the Jesuits as the sole ones capable of rediscovering and teaching it to the native population.

Reconstruction of the Impact of Science in North America: The project reconstructed how the introduction of science into the practices of subjugation in North America resulted in an increase in racial discrimination based on the notion that the natives were incapable of the logical reasoning required to comprehend science.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Project TESCCO is making a significant impact on the state of the art, as summarized below:

The discovery of a new source alters the prevailing narrative about the rise of new science in Europe. It reveals that the opposition from the Roman Church was primarily political rather than ideological. Even prominent political figures within the Church recognized the significance of new science and the need to control the narrative surrounding its inevitable spread. This fundamental premise explains why Jesuits were permitted to teach advanced scientific concepts to the native population in their missions.

The study of the history of scientific, teaching, and political institutions demonstrates that the prevailing narrative about science and its importance spread more rapidly than the actual teaching of new discoveries. Consequently, there was a fundamental replacement of new scientific ideas with previously held concepts that were only superficially related to the true discoveries. This process explains why the popularization of science involved individuals who were not primarily scientists, as exemplified by the Jesuits analyzed by the project.

Furthermore, the project raises awareness of how the recent trend of extreme specialization within universities actively undermines the notion of a shared European sensibility. This undervaluation leads to a lack of recognition of Europe’s responsibility towards other cultures and countries regarding the perception of science as a fair and universal practice.

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