Objects and Agency: Science and Technology Studies, Latin American Studies, and Global Histories of Knowledge in the Early Modern World

Abstract

Drawing from a combination of the author's own research on Portugal's empire and recent work across a range of disciplines, this essay discusses the growing dialogue between Latin American studies and science and technology studies (STS). It discusses key similarities and differences in the questions, methods, and theoretical frameworks which have guided research in both areas. It focuses particular attention on the divergent ways in which the two interdisciplinary arenas of scholarship have handled objects and materiality. The author argues that despite important differences in orientation, a focus on objects and materiality informed by STS perspectives can broaden the archive available to scholars of colonial Latin America, challenge and extend critical insights of colonial research, and call into question the adequacy of conventional Latin American and Atlantic spatial frameworks.

From colonialism to global health: Frameworks for the history of medicine in Portugal's empire

“…Against the limitations of much otherwise groundbreaking imperial history, scholarship influenced by a combination of postcolonialism and historical anthropology (Marks, 1997; Seth, 2009) and more recently by the convergence of area studies and science studies (Cagle, 2019) has contended that the dynamics of colonial medicine are not reducible to metropolitan priorities, institutions, or agents—however complexly they may be understood. With an interest in power, the politics of medicine, and the cultural dynamics of colonialism, this work has increasingly focused attention on the daily interactions of therapeutic practice, and has explored the varied and shifting perspectives on sickness, health, and caregiving among both patients and practitioners.…”

Actores, Objetos Y Prácticas Globales en Las Artes De Curar en Sudamérica Entre Fines Del Siglo Xix Y Durante El Siglo Xx

“…Con un énfasis menor, nuevas investigaciones procuran indagar a estos actores, a partir de su desplazamiento inter e intra-continental, presentándose como médicos diplomados e integrando -brevemente-los circuitos comerciales de grandes ciudades (Podgorny 2015;Correa 2016;Palma 2018;Vallejo 2021). Por otra parte, y al calor de reflexiones recientes, que señalan la potencialidad de estudiar las dinámica entre las sociedades latinoamericanas y la agencia presente en la dimensión objetual en clave global (Cagle 2019), un menor número de trabajos se abocó a la circulación urbana de productos específicos para el cuidado de la salud, en especial durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y el comienzo del siglo siguiente (Correa 2014;Carbonetti 2013). Estas monografías, que iluminaron el nutrido tráfico de objetos referidos a la salud y sus dinámicas publicitarias entre los sectores letrados urbanos, no profundizaron, empero, en las interconexiones transnacionales que estos flujos -y sus actores-generaban en las escenas urbanas locales.…”