Feminism and Science: Teaching and Learning ‘Science in the Making’ (podcast)

In the fourth episode, Dr Chayanika Shah talks about her experience of studying at IIT and of working as a scientist. She uses feminist studies to critically engage with science and to unravel some of the aspects that are considered central to science but often left unquestioned. Calling for a different approach towards science and science education, she says, “It [science] is a knowledge system that has evolved from among society and it is as encultured as any other knowledge system. When we teach science, let us not teach it as a final product. Let us teach it as it has evolved—along with its history, its sociology, its location, and the debates.”

Click on the play button below to listen to the audio. Alternatively you can download the ‘mp3’ file. The transcriped interview is avaible for download as a PDF file and has also been published on TARSHI’s blog In Plainspeak.

About Chayanika Shah

Chayanika Shah is a feminist and queer rights activist and has campaigned, researched, written and conducted workshops and given lectures extensively on issues of the politics of population control and reproductive technologies, feminist studies of science, and sexuality and sexual rights.

She has a doctorate in physics and has taught graduate students at a college affiliated to the University of Mumbai for over twenty years. She has also designed and taught courses on “Feminist Science Studies” and “Science Education” to masters students at Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai.

Some of her co-authored books are “Bharat ki Chaap” a companion book for the 13 episode documentary of the same name on History of Science and Technology in India and “We and Our Fertility: The politics of technological intervention”.

About Dialoging Education

“Dialoging Education” is (a podcast) driven by a vision of generating dialogue in pursuit of an education system that is equitable, democratic, and addresses questions of social justice. By interviewing teachers, teacher educators, research scholars and others related to the field, we hope to bring an eclectic range of ideas and voices that would, hopefully, interest many.

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