DeepSummary
The podcast episode features an interview with Carl Dudman, a PhD student from the UK studying anthropology at the University of Oxford. He discusses the cooperative extension system in the United States, which was created in the early 20th century to disseminate scientific knowledge and innovations in agriculture to farmers and rural communities.
The cooperative extension system involves land grant universities in every state, with extension offices representing those universities in every county. These offices serve as intermediaries between the universities and local communities, with extension agents communicating scientific information to the public and gathering feedback on their needs and interests.
Dudman highlights the evolving role of the cooperative extension system, which has expanded beyond its initial agricultural focus to address broader social issues like climate change, public health, and social justice. However, he notes the tension between respecting local ways of knowing and promoting scientific narratives like climate change, which may conflict with some communities' values.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The cooperative extension system in the United States was established to disseminate scientific knowledge and innovations from land grant universities to agricultural communities and has since expanded to address broader social issues.
- The system involves county-level extension offices that serve as intermediaries between universities and local communities, communicating scientific information and gathering public feedback.
- The evolving role of the extension system has created tension between promoting scientific narratives like climate change and respecting local values and ways of knowing.
- Extension services in rural areas tend to be more limited and avoid controversial topics like climate change, reflecting the values of those communities.
- There is a potential trade-off between achieving democratic engagement with diverse local epistemologies and promoting scientific narratives like climate action.
- Despite challenges, the cooperative extension system's unique infrastructure and localized approach offer potential for democratizing environmental governance and scientific communication.
- The extension system's interpretation of "science as public service" varies, with some prioritizing respect for local ways of knowing and others emphasizing the dissemination of scientific narratives.
- The cooperative extension system's ability to navigate the tension between promoting scientific narratives and respecting local values will shape its future role in addressing complex issues like climate change.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “So it then appears that there's this kind of weird trade off between achieving democracy and achieving climate action, because a lot of the extension agents in universities and indeed in this kind of national network are all about we need to bring climate into the conversation.“ by Carl Dudman
- “Both parties have a world that they want to save, but it seems sometimes that the process of doing so is not necessarily mutually compatible somehow, that it's not the same world.“ by Carl Dudman
- “Questions that hopefully take you step by step to a slightly fairer world.“ by Carl Dudman
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Episode Information
New Books in Environmental Studies
Marshall Poe
4/10/23