ON ASSEMBLAGE

Abstract

In this paper I juxtapose the work of the 2003–2006 Australian Research Council Project ‘Indigenous Knowledge and Resource Management in Northern Australia’ (IKRMNA) and the British imperial expedition of HMS Investigator (1800–1803) to scientifically reconnoitre what would become Australia. The first project explored the use of digital technologies in indigenous knowledge management, the second sought to add to the imperial archive. I argue that the culture and knowledge work of both projects is usefully revealed through the analytic concept of assemblage. In turn their juxtaposition usefully articulates the analytic leverage gained in the concept's use.

Keywords:

• generalizing
• method
• assemblage
• indigenous knowledge
• scientific expeditions

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge the many participants in the IKRMNA project, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, for showing me what was involved and what was at stake in moving beyond a singular conception of method. Thanks are due to John Law for insightful discussions around his naming of this methodological move.