Les savoirs locaux : comment les découvrir et comment les transmettre
Résumé
The irruption of what one first called modernity, and then globalization, has, by consequence, revived consciousness: are we so destitute that we should be obliged to look for everything elsewhere? Over the centuries, human groups have been able to adapt to their environment and to face the changes that have affected it. We are now at a crucial point in history, where everything changes so quickly that, if we are not careful, we will soon be completely cut off from the resources of the past, which most often seem outdated.
It is the responsibility of researchers and cultured men to make as soon as possible an inventory of local knowledge, sometimes called "traditional" or "endogenous". It will be necessary first to examine the meaning given to these expressions, which are susceptible of receiving various interpretaAbstract: The irruption of what one first called modernity, and then globalization, has, by consequence, revived consciousness: are we so destitute that we should be obliged to look for everything elsewhere? Over the centuries, human groups have been able to adapt to their environment and to face the changes that have affected it. We are now at a crucial point in history, where everything changes so quickly that, if we are not careful, we will soon be completely cut off from the resources of the past, which most often seem outdated.
It is the responsibility of researchers and cultured men to make as soon as possible an inventory of local knowledge, sometimes called "traditional" or "endogenous". It will be necessary first to examine the meaning given to these expressions, which are susceptible of receiving various interpretations. We will distance ourselves from the romantic view of the subject, which systematically regards the past as sacred, refusing to submit it to the expertise.
We will try to show a few ways that still allow us to access this knowledge and we will propose procedures to discover them and transmit them, in coherence with the modern world.
tions. We will distance ourselves from the romantic view of the subject, which systematically regards the past as sacred, refusing to submit it to the expertise.
We will try to show a few ways that still allow us to access this knowledge and we will propose procedures to discover them and transmit them, in coherence with the modern world.
L’irruption de ce que l’on a d’abord appelé la modernité, avant de parler de mondialisation, a, par contrecoup, réveillé les consciences : sommes-nous donc si démunis que nous devions tout aller chercher ailleurs ? Au cours des siècles, les groupes humains ont su s’adapter à leur environnement et faire face aux modifications qui l’ont affecté. Nous sommes maintenant à un point crucial de l’histoire, où tout change tellement vite que, si nous n’y prenons garde, nous nous retrouverons bientôt totalement coupés des ressources du passé, qui apparaît le plus souvent comme dépassé.
Il est de la responsabilité des chercheurs et des hommes de culture d’inventorier au plus vite les savoirs locaux, que l’on appelle parfois « traditionnels » ou « endogènes ». Il faudra d’abord se pencher sur le sens que l’on donne à ces expressions, qui sont susceptibles de recevoir des interprétations diverses. Nous nous éloignerons de la vision romantique du sujet, qui sacralise systématiquement le passé en refusant de le soumettre à l’expertise.
Nous tâcherons de montrer quelques pistes qui nous permettent encore aujourd’hui d’accéder à ces savoirs et nous proposerons des procédures pour les découvrir et les transmettre, en cohérence avec le monde moderne.