Reckoning with subaltern science: The case of India’s The Wire Science

Abstract

In light of the dominance of “Western” scientific discourse in English-language news media, the question arises regarding how and to what extent a prominent Global South-based science newsmagazine such as India’s The Wire Science positions itself with respect to indigenous cultural practices. Addressing this question, our essay critically examines The Wire Science’s “The Science of the Seas” feature series as one form of “subaltern science” stemming from the social hierarchy of caste. We work with the concept of subaltern science as a theoretical hook to show that the framing of the Indian fisherman in “The Science of the Seas” hardly casts him as a viable path for further inquiry so much as an exotic figure with an ancient, and deeply mystical, connection to the sea. Our analysis thus reveals that while the idea of representing subaltern fisher science in the English-language news media is novel, caste hierarchies are inscribed into the story narrative of “The Science of the Seas” in such a way that it prevents subaltern science from fully emerging, thereby reinforcing the primacy of Western science.