Ugandan Scientists, Scandinavian Collaborations, and the Cultural Economy of Science

Abstract

Money and cultural economies of science are imbuedwith multiple meanings for actors involved in internationalscientific research and research training collaborations inUganda. This article uses economic anthropology to explore someof the tensions and misunderstandings that arise from Ugandan-Scandinavian partnerships in science. Using ethnographicexamples drawn from the experiences of Ugandan scientistsand their Scandinavian counterparts, the article describeshow the positions and actions of Ugandan scientists producedifferent, and at times contradictory meanings, for themselves,their kin, local colleagues, and Scandinavian counterparts.Compassion for a grieving sibling, a gift to a charity fundraiser,the extraction of personal savings from an international researchproject, and the strategic construction of a countryside homeare just a few examples of actions and relations that shapeactors’ understandings of Ugandan-Scandinavian scientificcollaborations. The article finds that pre-existing tensions inscientific collaborations resulting from dependency upon foreigndonors for research and research training funding are furtherexacerbated by foreign actors’ partial understandings of themeanings and moralities of scientific work in Uganda. The articleconcludes that greater recognition of the patterns of culturaleconomy that make money and labor in science meaningful arenecessary for mitigating mistrust and misunderstanding acrossSouth-North scientific collaborations