ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ

Transformative transdisciplinarity: Navigating from philosophy to practice

We will begin by considering a framework for evidence-based guidance on how tasks to mobilise, translate, negotiate, synthesise and apply multiple forms of evidence can bridge knowledge systems, proposed by Maria Tengö and colleagues. When considering bridges between knowledge systems, the act of translating will lead straightforwardly to problems related to intercultural translation. Moreover, the tasks of negotiating and synthesising bring about the problem of how to deal with convergences and divergences between knowledge systems in terms of their cognitive constructs, ontologies, epistemologies, and values. We will then introduce two proposals advanced by David Ludwig and Charbel El-Hani to deal with these problems. These are: (1) the partial overlaps framework, as a way of carrying out a nuanced analysis of convergences (overlaps) and divergences (partialities of overlap) between knowledge systems, and (2) an account of intercultural translation as a sustained experience of sharing and dialogue that can lead to learning from differences that challenge the conceptual and practical repertoires of the social actors involved. We will introduce examples from our fieldwork with Indigenous and local communities in Brazil to elaborate on how the partial overlaps and the intercultural translation accounts presented can be integrated with a framework of multiple evidence-based transformative transdisciplinary collaboration.

Given the topic, it will be good if you think, in advance, about your own experiences with transdisciplinary work in research and/or teaching. If you have examples, keep them ready for the discussion!

Short biography
Charbel N. El-Hani is full professor of history and philosophy of science at the Institute of Biology, Federal ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ of Bahia (UFBA, Brazil) and guest researcher, Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group, Wageningen ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ & Research (Netherlands). He coordinates the History, Philosophy and Biology Teaching Group (LEFHBio) at UFBA, which carries out research in history, philosophy, and science teaching; philosophy of biology; theoretical biology; and ecology and conservation. He is currently a senior fellow at the Descartes Centre, Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ.