Reifications in Disease Ecology 2: Towards a Decolonized Pedagogy Enabling Science by, and for, the People

Abstract

In the second half of this essay about reifications in disease ecology, drawing upon our experience, we propose ideas and practices for invigorating a disease ecology by, and for, the people, guided by pedagogical principles and experiences that do not separate subjects and objects of study into roles and categories. Rather, we envision a disease ecology that seeks to understand relations, processes and contexts driving complex ecological phenomena like disease emergence. In doing so, we examine how science, when brought into a political pedagogy of context and relation, may become surprisingly helpful in moving beyond the false erudition that José Martí critiqued at the start of our colonial capitalist modernity.