什麼是後殖民科技研究中的後殖民：淺論其主張與啟發

What Is Postcolonial about Postcolonial Science and Technology Studies? A Preliminary Assessment of Its Arguments and Inspirations

近年來，後殖民科技研究常常出現在台灣科技研究論著的語彙中，可是對於這個概念所指為何與價值何在，卻少有批判性的回顧與檢討。本文聚焦在後殖民的科技研究分析潛能如何展現的問題，不預先給定後殖民的定義，而是藉由爬梳慣常被認定為「後殖民」科技研究者的主張，尤其是編纂後殖民科技研究讀本的Sandra Harding 的「強客觀性」主張與撰寫後殖民科技研究導論的Warwick Anderson 的「刪節號下的殖民」概念，因而歸納出後殖民科技的常見討論主題，包括原住民的知識與技術、發展與現代性，以及重新檢討殖民概念；本文並以此延伸出本地乃至於東亞情境下的相關議題，如東亞特色、後進國概念與對稱性原則。最後再討論這個概念的啟發，並提出筆者對這個概念的建議定位。

In recent years, postcolonial technoscience has often been addressed in STS research in Taiwan, but there have been few critical reviews and assessments. This article focuses on the ways in which postcolonial science and technology studies has been developed. It does not define postcolonial in advance, but examines closely the claims of those STS researchers who are usually considered postcolonial, such as Sandra Harding’s idea of strong objectivity and Warwick Anderson’s concept of colonial as “under erasure.” Next, common themes of postcolonial science and technology studies are summarized, which include indigenous knowledge and technology, development and modernity, and the re-examination of the notion of colonial. This article then extends into relevant issues in local and even East Asian settings, such as East Asian distinction, the latecomer concept, and the symmetry principle. It concludes by discussing how postcolonial science and technology studies has inspired the exploration of contrasts between tradition and modernity, suggesting that postcolonial science and technology be seen as a sensitizing concept and a heuristic.