‘The first astronomers’: why Indigenous knowledges should be taught at uni: podcast

Indigenous knowledges should be better embedded into astronomy degrees to advance science and give us a better understanding of the universe, an astrophysicist says.

According to QUT's Dr Michael Cowley, there is a willingness to bring Indigenous knowledges into our schools but it has had “slow start” in higher education. 

“We need to start including a chapter [about Indigenous astronomy] at the start of the textbooks, and indeed at a university level. It's an important part of history, one that we really shouldn't overlook,” Cowley told Campus Review.

“This knowledge can help fill in the gaps and give a better timeline of astronomy and astrophysics, if we can take advantage of that 60,000 year timeline that we have with indigenous astronomy, it can better inform our modern day science today.”

Cowley joined Campus Review to discuss the barriers to integrating First Nations knowledge into Western science, and how universities can work to address them.

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