Mellon Fellows Research Report

Troubled Translations: Ethnoscience and Empire in 20th-century Philippines

Ethnoscientists play an invaluable role as exponents of biological and cultural diversity. Their work involves close attention to the intricate process of translation—between languages, cultures, and environmental worldviews—often in deeply inequitable circumstances. This paper analyzes this process in 20th-century Philippines, with emphasis on the respective research of three individuals: Elmer Drew Merrill (1876–1956), the most prominent botanist of the early years of American colonization; Harley Harris Bartlett (1886–1960), a botanist, linguist, and early ethnobotanist; and Harold Conklin (1926–2016), the preeminent ethnoscientist after Philippines independence.

Searching for Balance in Hawai’i: Natives, Aliens, and the Civilian Conservation Corps

In the 1930s–1940s, white settlers in the Territory of Hawaii were concerned about the state of the archipelago’s nature and the state of its human population. Both seemed to be out of balance. Scientists warned that exotic species were destroying native forests and birds, while, in the human world, settlers believed that Native Hawaiians were a “vanishing race” and that Japanese were an “alien threat.” The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) program became one solution to the dual imbalances, tackling the entangled projects of Americanization and ecology.