There are about 50 people in this course this semester, which felt like more than the first semester’s 237.130 module. The tutors started out the session by doing an introductory exercise to get us on our feet and energised, which worked pretty well. I started out meeting the group of people who were not born in New Zealand, and then met the people in the group who are, like me, on the BFA course. There are about 8 of us, with the other students being on one of the design courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main part of the session started with us watching the “T\u0101tai Arorangi” episode of Project M\u0101tauranga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Project M\u0101tauranga is a television series that investigates M\u0101ori world views and methodologies within the scientific community and looks at their practical application\u2026 This episode looks at t\u0101tai arorangi (astronomical knowledge), used to navigate the ocean, plant crops, harvest kaimoana, and to tell the time<\/p>Pokap\u016b Akoranga P\u016btaiao<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
This particular episode focussed on M\u0101ori astronomy, including connections to non-M\u0101ori astronomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What I picked up from the episode:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- I need to find some M\u0101ori astronomy references.<\/li>
- Origin stories vary from Iwi to Iwi, so need to take care and not make sweeping statements like, “M\u0101ori believe …”<\/li>
- How were M\u0101ori astronomy stories translated by P\u0101keh\u0101 into Western\/mainstream concepts?<\/li>
- How do the researchers identify original sources?<\/li>
- What constitutes “raw information”?<\/li>
- Interesting: mainstream versus indigenous as comparative terms.<\/li>
- Is science not indigenous to India, England, France, whatever?<\/li>
- Not all M\u0101ori knowledge is for everyone – need to re-read the 237.130 article.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Digression on comparative terms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
One of the speakers in the video used indigenous and mainstream to differentiate between the M\u0101ori and non-M\u0101ori world views. As noted above, indigenous is (to me) not a useful way of differentiating between the two, because one could argue that everything is invented somewhere, so we may as well say that the Theory of Gravity is indigenous to England. In my writing, if it’s necessary to differentiate, I will therefore use the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Traditional M\u0101ori …<\/li>
- Mainstream …<\/li>
- I’m not proposing to tag science as anything when referring to the universal subject. Science is not Western science or Eastern science or British science; it’s just “science”.<\/li>
- Where there is a need to differentiate between mainstream and fringe science, for example parapsychology versus chemistry, I will write “fringe science” and “mainstream science” respectively.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Class exercise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
We split into small groups to discuss a few questions posed by the tutors on the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What did we learn that’s new?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
None of us had heard of S.M.A.R.T, the Society Of M\u0101ori Astronomy Research & Traditions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n