Making space for science

Abstract

The idea that scientific knowledge has a geography goes against the conventional image of science as a transcendental undertaking that remains substantively untouched by the particularities of location. Here I argue for the constitutive importance of space for both the conduct and cognitive content of scientific inquiry. Four arenas of scientific engagement are chosen for scrutiny - the laboratory, the museum, the field, and the garden. Historical sketches of these 'spaces of science' demonstrate the intimate connections between claims to scientific knowledge and the places of knowing. These go to show that idea that there are 'geographies of science' has considerable plausibility.