Course:Critical Perspectives on Knowledge Production in Psychedelic Science

In the midst of the current “renaissance” in psychedelic research, it is increasingly recognized that there are a wide range of methodological and ethical issues facing the field. Beyond purely methodological questions, there are also critical questions to be asked about how, where and why particular knowledge about psychedelics is produced. As psychedelics continue to enter mainstream society, it is important to consider what perspectives, questions, methods, and narratives are privileged and which are marginalized. For instance, how are certain variables selected in trials? How much value is assigned to particular forms of subjective experience, or is this valued at all? How does knowledge production differ between the Global North and Global South? How are Indigenous perspectives incorporated into psychedelic research? This course will examine a wide range of critical issues and perspectives in psychedelic science, equipping students with a broader and more integrated understanding of how research is conducted across a variety of settings, its limitations, and how these may be overcome in the future.
Price $950 USD

CE count TBD - Pending approval

You can read more about the course, professors, and class details here!

At the end of the program, participants will be better able to…

1. Explain how historical, political, and economic factors inform psychedelic research design
2. Discuss the role of the entourage effect in the therapeutic use of psychedelics
3. List which measures are commonly used in psychedelic research
4. Describe which biases affect the choice of measures in psychedelic research
5. Compare the nuances of how clinical trials with psychedelics are designed and conducted in a variety of settings
6. Describe a range of methodological and ethical questions inherent in psychedelic research
7. Explain the complex history of psychedelics and religion
8. Discuss how problematic or out-of-date theories of religion have been mobilized with the narratives of psychedelic medicine
9. Analyze different types of knowledge production and ways of knowing
10. Discuss how knowledge can be co created with other-than-human beings
11. Discuss the perceptions of Indigenous people in modern and historical contexts
12. Compare modern and historical uses of entheogenic medicines in Indigenous communities
13. Explain how knowledge production differs between Western and Indigenous worldviews
14. Analyze different types of Indigenous knowledge production and ways of knowing
15. Compare how knowledge production differs between the Global North and South
16. Assess the impact of a neuro-centric approach for clinical practice, research, and psychedelic culture
17. Analyze the Brazilian social context and how it influences the production of knowledge in the psychedelic field
18. Discuss how this science developed in the country, influenced by the science produced in the Global North but also by the Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian cults, may show different paths for the integration of psychedelics in the Western culture
19. Compare the contribution that a neurophenomenological approach has for psychedelic research and clinical practice, as opposed to a neuro-centric approach
20. Revise and discuss past and present anthropological, clinical, and interdisciplinary psychedelic research in Mexico
21. Discuss research that has been undertaken in Uruguay the last decade and the emergence of Arche, an interdisciplinary research group engaged in the development of a scientific research agenda around psychedelics
22. Analyze the specifics of Uruguay in the global scenario of the psychedelic field

If you have general questions about this course, please contact Alejandra, who is Chacruna's Program Coordinator, at [email protected]

Event Venue

Online