AO: This 2007 article that appeared in Science about Jarita Holbrook highlights her studies of indigenous African astronomy. Holbrook is quoted as saying: "There is a history of sky-watching all over the world, but the way that we teach astronomy is only Newton and Galileo and perhaps Stonehenge. If you bring in examples of African cultural astronomy for black students in introductory astronomy classes and give them a sense of ownership of the sky, perhaps they'll feel more like this is a field that belongs to them. And perhaps they'll stay in it longer and do better." This is particularly relevant to the video circulated (where the young student questions how we might "know" gravity) and the #ScienceMustFall movement in South Africa.
Critical Commentary
AO: This 2007 article that appeared in Science about Jarita Holbrook highlights her studies of indigenous African astronomy. Holbrook is quoted as saying: "There is a history of sky-watching all over the world, but the way that we teach astronomy is only Newton and Galileo and perhaps Stonehenge. If you bring in examples of African cultural astronomy for black students in introductory astronomy classes and give them a sense of ownership of the sky, perhaps they'll feel more like this is a field that belongs to them. And perhaps they'll stay in it longer and do better." This is particularly relevant to the video circulated (where the young student questions how we might "know" gravity) and the #ScienceMustFall movement in South Africa.