"[This] system was not made for [you]:" A case for decolonial Scientia

Area of Science:

• Decolonial Science and Philosophy of Science
• Sociology of Science and Race
• Critical Race Theory and Black Radical Tradition

Background:

• Sylvia Wynter's decolonial Scientia (DS) posits humans as simultaneously biological and cultural beings.
• DS employs narrative interventions to challenge Western scientific authority and empirical limitations.
• Wynter's "languaging" integrates scientific critique with Black radical imagining.

Purpose of the Study:

• To destabilize the canonical narrative of W. M. Cobb's "Race and Runners" using "languaging."
• To identify relational complexities and embedded ideologies in the narrative concerning biological race.
• To argue that narrative and research practices challenge Western scientific/unscientific binaries.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of audiovisual, documentary, and manuscript sources (W. Montague Cobb Manuscript Collection).
• Systematic analysis of correspondence between Cobb and Howard Duncan to identify scientific practices, human interactions, and race-athletic ability dynamics.
• Articulation of narrative departures and additions to destabilize the canonical story and identify interconnected ideas, histories, and narratives.

Main Results:

• Correspondence reveals obscured dynamics, such as racialized power enacted through science and the objectification of athletes.
• Cobb's identity is presented beyond a "pioneer," highlighting his experiences with racism and refusal to engage with Duncan as an equal.
• The analysis identifies how Western scientific ideologies embedded in narratives reinforce prescribed roles and limit transformative approaches to contesting biological race.

Conclusions:

• Narratives are powerful forces shaping the study of human biology and the opposition to biological race concepts.
• Western scientific ideologies embedded within narratives can restrict the potential of research approaches.
• Decolonial approaches, like DS, are crucial for a more nuanced understanding of race, science, and their complex interrelations.