Science and Power Politics: The Rule of Experts

By Julian Hayda
A sculpture with the inscription underneath ‘Belgium offers civilization to Congo’ in the main atrium of the Africa Museum in Tervuren, Belgium, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The museum reopened on Saturday Dec. 8, 2018, after more than 10 years spent revamping the building and overhauling its dated, one-sided approach to history.
A sculpture with the inscription underneath 'Belgium offers civilization to Congo' in the main atrium of the Africa Museum in Tervuren, Belgium, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The museum reopened on Saturday Dec. 8, 2018, after more than 10 years spent revamping the building and overhauling its dated, one-sided approach to history. Virginia Mayo / AP Photo
A sculpture with the inscription underneath ‘Belgium offers civilization to Congo’ in the main atrium of the Africa Museum in Tervuren, Belgium, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The museum reopened on Saturday Dec. 8, 2018, after more than 10 years spent revamping the building and overhauling its dated, one-sided approach to history.
A sculpture with the inscription underneath 'Belgium offers civilization to Congo' in the main atrium of the Africa Museum in Tervuren, Belgium, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. The museum reopened on Saturday Dec. 8, 2018, after more than 10 years spent revamping the building and overhauling its dated, one-sided approach to history. Virginia Mayo / AP Photo

Science and Power Politics: The Rule of Experts

By Julian Hayda
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Those who hold scientific truth have the power to change societies. Many times in the past, that scientific knowledge has been used to manipulate or marginalize. This week, Worldview is hosting a series on the intersection of science and power politics, beginning with the fields of geological science, land surveying and how the Europeans conquered the Middle East. Columbia University historian Timothy Mitchell called this phenomenon “Techno Politics” in his book The Rule of Experts. In the first installment of this limited Worldview series, Mitchell joins us to explore how entire fields of science were created to solve the problems that colonialism created.