What Counts as Knowledge?
Lectures in the Arts Scholars course on power and inequity in research begged the question: What counts as knowledge? In these lectures, various scholars presented their work and touched upon power and inequity in their research methods, and knowledge.
In a lecture by Dr Patrick Thomsen, I was introduced to the research method of ‘talanoa,’ where knowledge from the relationship with the researcher and interviewee, the idea being derived from Pasifika cultures.
Patrick stated in his lecture that there is an “inherent western bias in academia.” Sometimes western knowledge, science, and statistics are valued over other forms of knowledge. This idea was also touched upon in discussions with Daniel Hernandez, and Nicole Perry, Daniel saying that he included song lyrics in his research, but these were “not seen as legitimate in fields outside of ethnomusicology,” and Nicole, who works in indigenous studies, saying that her work was “accepted in some spaces and not others.”
As a musician myself, I hold value in expression and connection with people – which I usually express in musical and social contexts. I believe that this has been vital in the development of my music career, but had never considered it as a viable route for research. Music tells real stories of real people, their experiences and thoughts, yet even in musical settings, I have felt what Nicole, Daniel and Patrick mentioned, my work not being accepted in some spaces due to predominantly western biases regarding the language, forms, instrumentals or lyrics used.
It was incredibly reassuring to have those values reiterated by such respected scholars, and to also hear their reflections upon instances where they too haven’t felt so respected when presenting their work that use less western, or “conventional” forms of research.
If there is something I have taken from these lectures, it is that there are some stories that statistics, science, and western knowledge just can’t tell.
