The scientist who wants to decolonize astronomy – 02/01/2024 – Fundamental Science

When Russian author Vladimir Nabokov wrote that “there is no science without imagination and no art without facts”, he may not have been talking specifically about astronomy, but this observation says a lot about this field of knowledge. Just like art, astronomy is a strategy for building other imaginaries: at least this is what astrophysicist Alan Alves Brito, professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and finalist for the 2020 Jabuti Literature Prize with the book “Astrophysics for basic education: the origin of chemical elements in the universe”.

Brito believes that astronomy interacts closely with the arts when it demands imagination from scientists to understand very distant objects. “Children always ask me what it’s like inside a black hole or how stars explode. These are questions whose answers need to embrace creativity”, he says.

The researcher from Bahia, with a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s and doctorate in stellar astrophysics from the University of São Paulo (USP), defends the recognition of artistic languages ​​as tools for thinking about phenomena such as the Big Bang, the expansion of the universe or the evolution of planets. Its focus is on the languages ​​of people originally from Brazil and those brought from Africa, other ways of accessing human curiosity that lead us to philosophical questions such as “who we are”, “where we come from” and “why are we here”.

“The history of hegemonic astronomy – European, male, white, cis-heterosexual – is very visual. Images from the Hubble Space Telescope and now the James Webb Space Telescope enchant humanity. But this experience is not exclusive to astronomy. We need to explore the perceptions practiced by different people”, he says. These are olfactory, sound and artistic experiences that help us interpret the world and answer those most fundamental questions of humanity.

“What I propose is that we look at cultures that go beyond worldview and that bring us teachings about science, technology and philosophy through songs, drumming, sculptures, basketry and different forms of expression”, he argues.

The Dogon people, for example, a small African ethnic group, represent the creation of the world on carved wooden benches that show heaven and earth as two discs supported by ancestral spirits. In their rituals, they use masks with long points, representing this connection between the two planes. The Tabwa people of Congo have a scientific model of baskets that represent the Milky Way, the firmament and, in detail, the cardinal points.

In Brazilian territories, the Tupi-Guarani people use beats and songs in their rituals to explain the world. Correspondences of constellations and Greek stars such as the Pleiades and Cassiopeia, for example, are called Vespeiro and Anta do Norte and symbolize the beginning of the Tupi-Guarani year and the beginning of spring. “We know little about these languages ​​and what they can teach us about the origin of the universe,” says Brito.

Based on the languages ​​spoken in Brazil and America, he developed a thesis in his specialization in Brazilian literature, studied at UFRGS, that highlights a relationship between hegemonic astrophysics and other perspectives on heaven and earth. Looking at the artistic expressions of these different peoples as a possibility of understanding their cosmologies is what he calls decolonial cosmology.

If traditional science hierarchizes explanations about heaven and earth, decolonial cosmologies encourage us to think differently, bringing ways of thinking into our daily lives that go beyond the European matrix. “They are cosmopolitics that tension different worlds. They think about how a European, an African and an indigenous cosmology can stand side by side. Exist and resist together”, says Brito.

“The European scientific models that we see in physics books are also artistic representations. What is the difference between the visual representation of space-time that we learn at university and that of the basket world of the Tabwa people?”, he asks.

And this is also a mission of the exact sciences. Brito points out that, if they were responsible for defining what science and technology are throughout modern and contemporary history, it is also up to them to recognize their role in excluding people and in the mission of reintegrating them. “Physics needs to reflect on its biases and exclusions – philosophically, epistemologically and mathematically, showing that we are all connected,” he says. And he adds that science will only be human and collective when it is diverse and inclusive. “Until we do this, we are discarding the power of creativity that black and indigenous people bring.”

From this perspective, the researcher argues that the humanities are fundamental to the exact sciences. “These connections don’t fall from the sky. They come from critical thinking, reading, learning, contact and experiences. They are fundamental to help us think about another astrophysics. And I feel that more and more people in my field are understanding what what I’m saying.”

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The interview with Alan Alves Brito was carried out at Night Lab, an interactive event promoted by the SESI Lab Museum, in Brasília (DF), to bring the adult public closer to scientific topics. Serrapilheira participated in the September 2023 edition, at the invitation of SESI Lab.

The Fundamental Science blog is edited by Serrapilheira, a private, non-profit institute that promotes science in Brazil. Sign up for the Serrapilheira newsletter to keep up to date with news from the institute and the blog.

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