Owning and knowing are concepts that are generally classified separately, the former associated with law and property while the latter falls within the remit of science and research. In this video, ANNAPURNA MAMIDIPUDI explores the ways in which artisanal production undermines this separation. This separation leads to a world in which knowledge can almost exclusively be owned as property. Mamidipudi highlights the fact that artisanal knowledge however is owned not just as property but also as culture, ritual and secret. If we incorporate knowledge into ownership, argues Mamidipudi, it becomes much more difficult to ignore problematic realities about how our goods are produced and at what environmental cost. The research argues that enhanced collaboration between artisanal producers and experts from other fields can yield significant results in terms of sustainability and beyond.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB101053
Researcher
Annapurna Mamidipudi is a Visiting Scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. She has previously held a post-doctoral position at the University of Maastricht where she completed her PhD. Her main research interests include sustainable agriculture, politics and development and the role of traditional crafts (particularly hand weaving) in the contemporary world. A trained engineer, Mamidipudi set up an NGO that has supported traditional craftwork in India for almost 20 years. Mamidipudi has also produced an opera album, Pallaki Seva Prabandhamu, directed by R. Vedavalli.
Institution
Founded in 1994, the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin is one of more than 80 research institutes administered by the Max Planck Society. The Institute is dedicated to the study of the history of science, aiming to understand scientific thinking and practice as historical phenomena from a variety of methodological and interdisciplinary perspectives. Our research draws on the reflective potential of the history of science to address current challenges in scientific scholarship, exploring the changing meaning of fundamental scientific concepts as well as how cultural developments shape scientific practices. The Institute’s projects span all eras of human history and a multitude of cultures globally, ranging from the origins of continuity systems in Mesopotamia to present-day science in China, Renaissance natural history, and the past of quantum mechanics. The Institute also draws on the reflective potential of the history of science to address current challenges in scientific scholarship.
Original publication
Ownership of Knowledge: Beyond Intellectual Property
Schafer Dagmar, Mamidipudi Annapurna and Buning Marius
Published in 2023
