"Eppur Continua a Muoversi". The Colonial Dynamics of Scientific Knowledge in Journals and Impact Factors

Abstract

Discussions about the geopolitics of scientific knowledge usually make reference to science, universities and their learning models, yet today academic careers are rather centred on scientific publications and their impact. Hence the main purpose in this work is to analyse this change of paradigm. The articles places meditations on Southern epistemologies as a framework of reference from which to critically revise how science has traditionally defined itself and the hegemonic method for knowledge dissemination: scientific articles. To begin with, the article describes the evolution of science and how journals and impact factors have gained their current status. Next, the article ponders over a number of alternatives to the current model. It addresses the question of whether such alternatives widen the range of possibilities, or else deepen extant colonialist and elitist dynamics. Lastly, it shows why today the exploration of alternatives is linked to their potential for integration in the hegemonic system of knowledge management, while resistances offer strategies and practical frameworks for action that open up new horizons.