Of monkeys and primatologists: an anthropological study about the encounters between practices and regimes of knowledge

Abstract

The differences between scientific and non-scientific knowledge, as well as their possible dialogues, is an open subject but fruitful in anthropology, especially in light of recent alliances in the conservation of biodiversity. In this context, for two decades a group of primatologists from the University of São Paulo study robust capuchins monkeys that inhabit Fazenda Boa Vista, Gilbués, Piauí, where local community inhabitants were hired as field assistants. Thus, this research objective is to investigate and describe the knowledge relationships and sociality between capuchins, primatologists, and field assistants, considering the encounter of different knowledge regimes. The study will involve living together with these people in the mode of participant observation, cultivating informal conversations, and listening to their stories. The subsequent analysis will amplify the field of equivocations, differences, and fruitful encounters in terms of knowledge produced. In this way, this investigation offers a possibility of accompanying and registering a partnership already in the making between scientific and non-scientific knowledge and may offer original ideas about the intricate relation between biodiversity and sociodiversity.