Critical Engaged Pedagogy to Confront Racism and Colonialism in (Geo) Science Education Through a Historical Lens
The geosciences continue to grapple with the exclusion of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other students of Color. These patterns can be understood in the discipline’s roots in colonialism and extractivism. Furthermore, training of the scientific process as objective and race-neutral results in scien...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Earth Science, Systems and Society |
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| Online Access: | https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.3389/esss.2024.10114 |
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| author | Emily J. Diaz-Vallejo Ken Keefover-Ring Elizabeth Hennessy Erika Marín-Spiotta |
| author_facet | Emily J. Diaz-Vallejo Ken Keefover-Ring Elizabeth Hennessy Erika Marín-Spiotta |
| author_sort | Emily J. Diaz-Vallejo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The geosciences continue to grapple with the exclusion of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other students of Color. These patterns can be understood in the discipline’s roots in colonialism and extractivism. Furthermore, training of the scientific process as objective and race-neutral results in scientists who do not recognize how science can perpetuate inequities in society. Using a U.S. university biogeography course as a case study, we describe an innovative framework for teaching equity through a critical historical lens that interrogates: 1) biases in the processes and forms of knowledge production, legitimization, and exclusion; 2) the source of inequities in representation in the discipline; and 3) how societal benefits and harms of scientific practices are felt disproportionately demographically and geographically. Students were encouraged to critically analyze the historical context of scientific theories and their proponents and challenge assumptions about the representativeness of data supporting those theories into the present day. Engaging with these questions broadened students’ understanding of changing paradigms in the field and of links between colonialism and modern science. We provide recommendations for instructors seeking to use similar approaches to enhance student learning. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-10caace15423418bb1d6040a1f71e5e3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2634-730X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth Science, Systems and Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-10caace15423418bb1d6040a1f71e5e32025-01-10T14:04:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Earth Science, Systems and Society2634-730X2024-12-014110.3389/esss.2024.10114Critical Engaged Pedagogy to Confront Racism and Colonialism in (Geo) Science Education Through a Historical LensEmily J. Diaz-Vallejo0Ken Keefover-Ring1Elizabeth Hennessy2Erika Marín-Spiotta31Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States1Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States3Department of History and Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States1Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United StatesThe geosciences continue to grapple with the exclusion of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other students of Color. These patterns can be understood in the discipline’s roots in colonialism and extractivism. Furthermore, training of the scientific process as objective and race-neutral results in scientists who do not recognize how science can perpetuate inequities in society. Using a U.S. university biogeography course as a case study, we describe an innovative framework for teaching equity through a critical historical lens that interrogates: 1) biases in the processes and forms of knowledge production, legitimization, and exclusion; 2) the source of inequities in representation in the discipline; and 3) how societal benefits and harms of scientific practices are felt disproportionately demographically and geographically. Students were encouraged to critically analyze the historical context of scientific theories and their proponents and challenge assumptions about the representativeness of data supporting those theories into the present day. Engaging with these questions broadened students’ understanding of changing paradigms in the field and of links between colonialism and modern science. We provide recommendations for instructors seeking to use similar approaches to enhance student learning.https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.3389/esss.2024.10114science teachinghistorycolonialismimperialismdecoloniality |
| spellingShingle | Emily J. Diaz-Vallejo Ken Keefover-Ring Elizabeth Hennessy Erika Marín-Spiotta Critical Engaged Pedagogy to Confront Racism and Colonialism in (Geo) Science Education Through a Historical Lens Earth Science, Systems and Society science teaching history colonialism imperialism decoloniality |
| title | Critical Engaged Pedagogy to Confront Racism and Colonialism in (Geo) Science Education Through a Historical Lens |
| title_full | Critical Engaged Pedagogy to Confront Racism and Colonialism in (Geo) Science Education Through a Historical Lens |
| title_fullStr | Critical Engaged Pedagogy to Confront Racism and Colonialism in (Geo) Science Education Through a Historical Lens |
| title_full_unstemmed | Critical Engaged Pedagogy to Confront Racism and Colonialism in (Geo) Science Education Through a Historical Lens |
| title_short | Critical Engaged Pedagogy to Confront Racism and Colonialism in (Geo) Science Education Through a Historical Lens |
| title_sort | critical engaged pedagogy to confront racism and colonialism in geo science education through a historical lens |
| topic | science teaching history colonialism imperialism decoloniality |
| url | https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.3389/esss.2024.10114 |
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