British Science Festival 2021 - Brookes Professor to be a Scientific Section President

Professor Emerita Joy Hendry has been announced as President of the Archaeology and Anthropology Scientific Section at the 2021 British Science Festival.

Professor Hendry is a leading expert in the social anthropology of Japan, and the science of Indigenous Peoples in various parts of the world.

The 17 Scientific Sections of the British Science Festival contribute to events and arrange activities. Each year, the Sections nominate an individual who has made a significant contribution to their scientific field for Presidency of the Section.

Professor Hendry says: “I am delighted to have been asked, both to give a lecture and to be president of the Archeology and Anthropology section of the British Science Festival. My first degree was in General Science, and although I didn't study Social Anthropology until a few years later, I have always felt that our attention to careful long-term research is in keeping with the overall aims of the scientific community.

“My own research on Indigenous Science enabled me to identify ways in which indigenous communities around the world have gathered, refined and continued to use tried and tested methods of living sustainably at the same time as caring carefully for the fragile earth which we all share. My colleagues in all the fields of archaeology and anthropology are in the same way meticulous in their research, and it is therefore quite appropriate that we play an important part in the Festival.”

Professor Hendry’s presidential address at the event will focus on Indigenous wisdom. Drawing on her work with native groups in Australia, New Zealand and North America, Professor Hendry will examine science through the lens of indigenous knowledge, challenging the notion that ‘Western’ science is the only legitimate type.

The British Science Festival is Europe’s longest standing science festival, travelling to a different place in the United Kingdom each year. It aims to connect people with scientists, engineers, technologists and social scientists. With a programme of free events to the public over four or five days, the talks, workshops and drop-in events span a diverse range of subjects that encompass science in the broadest sense, promising something for everyone.

The British Science Festival 2020 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has now been rescheduled to take place in Chelmsford from 7 – 11 September 2021, hosted by Anglia Ruskin University.

Go to the British Science Festival to find out about the other Section presidents.

Professor Hendry is the author of Science and Sustainability: Learning from Indigenous Wisdom