The Scientific Undercommons: Black Students, Black Colleges, and Science during the early 20th century

• In Event: Promising Scholarship in Education Research: Dissertation Fellows and Their Research

Abstract

The Scientific Undercommons: Black Students, Black Colleges, and Science during the early 20th century

In 1923, Black students founded Beta Kappa Chi Scientific Honor Society (B.K.X.) at Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania. B.K.X. gave students access to a scientific world of their own making, or what I refer to as the scientific undercommons, at a moment when Black Americans had limited opportunities to participate in modern science. Taking a cue from Stefano Harney and Fred Moten’s notion of the “undercommons,” Black students in the scientific undercommons fugitively planned how to dismantle the anti-Black racism interfering with their scientific careers. In that world, its members embraced a resistance method literary scholar Britt Rusert refers to as “fugitive science” and wrote articles disputing racist ideas about who could do science and where students learned science. By asserting their position as scientific experts, B.K.X. wrote scientific papers, boasted about their accomplishments, and celebrated their theoretical contributions to science. In my dissertation, I argue the scientific undercommons not only provided its members with opportunities to network, collaborate, and celebrate their accomplishments but also strengthened science education at Black colleges. This poster presentation will highlight my dissertation chapter that follows B.K.X. as a student-led scientific undercommons from 1923-1939. In this chapter, I argue the scientific undercommons served as space for ongoing experimentation with scientific knowledge and identity.

Author

• Charnell Long, University of Wisconsin - Madison