A brief precis of the institutionalization of history of science in Mexico

Abstract

This short essay offers an overview of some crucial aspects of the history of science in Mexico: its pioneers, and their characteristic ways of historical writing on science since the end of the nineteenth century. From this point, we explore later forms of historiography that have shaped the development of history of science as a professionalized and institutionalized field of research in Mexico. The aim of this task is to highlight the variety of ways in which certain actors sought to understand, interpret and communicate the main concerns and developments of Mexican science at different historical moments, which paved the way for the shaping of the history of science as an academic discipline in this country.

Values and vendettas: Populist science governance in Mexico

“…Mexico is a country at the margins of the highly developed scientific world, its relationship to the Anglo-European scientific establishment mainly one of coloniality ( Harding, 2011 ; Mignolo, 2007 ; Seth, 2009 ) and dependence ( Dagnino et al, 1996 ). Characteristic of Latin America, Mexico has a relatively young scientific system compared with the powerhouses of the Global North, with professionalization of science occurring only as the 20th century progressed ( Alonso-Pavón et al, 2020 ). As Kreimer (2019 , p. 12) remarks, coloniality encompasses ‘a certain relative weakness of locally produced science’ paired with a ‘state decision-making machinery itself, which generally does without any locally produced knowledge’.…”

Valores y vendettas: La gobernanza populista de la ciencia en México

“…México es un país al margen del mundo científico altamente desarrollado, su relación con el establishment científico anglo-europeo siendo el de colonialidad (Mignolo, 2007;Harding, 2011;Seth, 2009) y la dependencia (Dagnino at al., 1996). Característico de América Latina, México tiene un sistema científico relativamente joven en comparación con las potencias del Norte Global, con la profesionalización de su ciencia ocurriendo sólo a medida que avanzaba el siglo XX (Alonso-Pavón et al, 2020). Como señala Kreimer (2019, p. 12), la colonialidad engloba "una cierta debilidad relativa de la ciencia producida localmente", junto a una "maquinaria estatal de toma de decisiones ensimismada, que generalmente prescinde de cualquier conocimiento producido localmente".…”