Rich sustainable knowledge already exists and does not require reinvention by experts.

Evidence

One of the important messages in all of this work is that we do not have to reinvent the wheel or depend wholly on technological experts to show us how to make the changes we need. While modern technology has a lot to contribute, much of the knowledge we need has existed for many thousands of years all over the world, and indeed, still exists, even in our own highly consumerist society. This knowledge is often assumed to be “old hat” or “out of date”; this is part of our saturation with the discourse of “progress” that relies on the idea of “advancing” civilization through constant change fed by “newer and better” inventions. EcoJustice scholars and teachers recognize this modernist way of thinking as very limited, and assert the need to revalue and re-teach those forms of knowledge that offer a smaller ecological footprint and stronger communities. We recommend considering traditional practices and knowledge alongside newer scientific and technological knowledge and the social sciences as the best way to address the challenges that we are facing. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 1735

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Directly extends eco-justice pedagogy’s central move of revaluing commons knowledge over progress discourse, which the Grafting & Growth article shares as a theme of valuing traditional ecological practice.
• XREF: Ties to prior chapters on the discourse of progress and the cultural commons, framing this as the pedagogical payoff of the theory. — connects to: A culture’s real internal problems do not negate the sustainability lessons it offers. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 1584
• recurring: this claim recurs 3 times within its source