Science and Sustainability - Learning from Indigenous Wisdom

Indigenous peoples have passed down vital knowledge for generations from which local plants help cure common ailments, to which parts of the land are unsuitable for buildings because of earthquakes. Here, Hendry examines science through these indigenous roots, problematizing the idea that Western science is the only type that deserves that name.

Joy Hendry is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University, UK. She specializes in the study of Japan, but has also done fieldwork in Morocco, Canada and Mexico, and has made recent visits to China, Indonesia, Nepal and Uzbekistan. She is the author of many books including Wrapping Culture: Politeness, Presentation and Power in Japan and Other Societies and Reclaiming Culture: Indigenous Peoples and Self-Representation , which was picked by Choice magazine as one of their 'outstanding academic titles' in 2006.