Living Landscapes, Archi-text-ures, and Land-guaging Algo-rhythms

Current conceptions of STEM focus on the Western views of distinct academic disciplines—sciences, technologies, engineering, and mathematics. There are national and international initiatives aimed at increasing workforce and postsecondary participation in STEM-related fields, including individuals in under-represented groups. While the emphases of these initiatives are clear, further consideration regarding the meaning and purpose of STEM is necessary. From our indigenous and ecological perspectives, limited questioning around STEM not only marginalizes other cultural forms of knowing—especially those which are connected to the environment—but also denies the potential for other cultural forms of knowing to contribute to the development and advancement of STEM. We are particularly interested in how STEM might be re-imagined within indigenous and ecological perspectives; what alternative meanings of STEM are enabled; and in light of these, what other purposes are possible for STEM? In this paper, we consider other cultural forms of knowing, specifically those forms of knowing deeply connected to the environment, to explore how such practices enable a re-imagining of STEM. Focusing on living landscapes, topography, architecture, and algo-rhythms, we engage the reader to play with these ideas, question taken for granted meanings of STEM, and re-imagine STEM within ecological and indigenous perspectives.