At this spatial study group we're looking forward to welcoming Julio Postigo, Senior Research Scientist at NORC at UChicago.

He is looking for spatial feedback on the following projects:

Understanding the generation and spatial distribution of local knowledge in the Andes

Agrarian societies have been generating and adjusting, over thousands of years, knowledge about their landscape and climate. Knowledge is dynamic; it persists, changes or disappears. Currently, local knowledge (indigenous, traditional, and ecological) is considered a key factor of resilience and an enabler of adaptive responses to climatic change and variability. Foundational research on local knowledge was ethnobotanical, focusing on taxonomy of local vegetation. Later, the interest broadened to the farming practices of agrarian societies, which were considered less harmful to the environment and less dependent on oil-based inputs. More recently, there is increasing interest in local indicators for weather forecasting; however, we know little about how this knowledge is generated and how has it change over time.

In this study group I will present two linked ongoing projects. The first examines how knowledge is generated among Aymara expert farmers (yapuchiris) in the Bolivian Altiplano. The second explores the spatial patterns of local knowledge in Peru. The purpose is to start a dialogue about ways to analyze the data and present results, and hopefully, stimulate potential collaborations about these less explore aspects of local knowledge

Logistics:

Tuesday,May 21, 2019

9-11am (30-45 min presentation, 15-30min Q+A, remaining time: networking/close early)

Searle Chemistry Lab

5735 S. Ellis Ave, Room 240A

Chicago, IL 60637

Take the elevator to the 2nd floor. When you exit, take two right turns and walk to the end of the hallway.

We'll have breakfast (croissants and muffins), with tea and coffee.

2019 winter and spring schedule:

https://spatial.uchicago.edu/content/2019