How we think about and act on the usefulness of scientific research has epistemological and political implications: what knowledge consists of, how it comes about and to what ends. In this... Show moreHow we think about and act on the usefulness of scientific research has epistemological and political implications: what knowledge consists of, how it comes about and to what ends. In this dissertation, I situate the usefulness of scientific research in concrete places for knowledge exchange. The exchange of knowledge within and between environments is shaped by many spatial factors: from architectural designs, physical proximity and material infrastructures to city planning, regional development and geopolitics. And not only knowledge travels: also spatial models for research organisation circulate. Focusing on ‘utility spots’ instead of prominent scientists, dominant disciplines or powerful organisations is proposed as a fruitful way to highlight the intersection of political, societal, economic, cultural and scientific developments. In this dissertation I propose and develop the utility spot concept as spatio-historical approach to the epistemology of useful scientific research. This allows me to relate different utility concepts to the histories of science, universities, science policy, and the geopolitics of the Atlantic world in the second half of the twentieth century. Future research into previous, current and future organisation of scientific research with societal value could focus on the politics of proximity (in multiple dimensions) at various utility spots. Show less
University of Colour in Amsterdam demonstrated against the neoliberal university and the perpetuation of coloniality in the curricula. Rhodes Must Fall in Cape Town specifically focused on the... Show moreUniversity of Colour in Amsterdam demonstrated against the neoliberal university and the perpetuation of coloniality in the curricula. Rhodes Must Fall in Cape Town specifically focused on the Fanonian concept of ‘putting the last first’. Both Rhodes Must Fall and the University of Colour centred historically marginalised voices as an aim of the decolonised university. The book argues that epistemic justice requires an unlearning and relearning of being/becoming that is the decolonised self; reimagining the relationship between pedagogy and community, theory and lived experience. It attempts to rethink theoretical frames such as Freudian psychoanalysis from a decolonial feminist perspective. This books seeks to share and encourage more dialogue towards achieving decolonised universities. Show less
