JOIN ONLINE SESSIONhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/87072750030?pwd=SDhab3ZhUXo2YnN1elREUzZ6TS9Pdz09Science can be an international, collaborative and objective human endeavor at its best – at its worst; however, scientists have globally exploited and alienated communities, committed or aided in atrocities, and done little to quell the perception of science as a Western achievement.
Discourses in the humanities on decolonizing knowledge – i.e. liberating research and education from colonial biases – have matured over the past years and many scholars undertake anti-colonial efforts. International conferences and networks are being established, and indigenous epistemologies and methods are being increasingly re-focused as subjects of study rather than objects. Yet the idea of decolonized science education and research seems to lag in terms of international presence and recognition.
Fortunately, there is a wealth of scholars, scientists, and activists working to change this. Initiatives, informed by their local histories, focus on different aspects of what decolonized science could look like and which results it should deliver. The aim of this session is to center, summarize, and compare different approaches and goals of initiatives around the globe and if possible, derive ideas for local and global educational and research policies to decolonize science.
By bringing together scientists working on different aspects of decolonization from across the globe, the session sketches what a “global” decolonial paradigm in the sciences could look like. With a better understanding of differences and similarities in approach and practice, various local initiatives can learn from one another during, identify crucial potential for collaboration and explore a common jumping-off point for future conversations around globally coordinated action.
To achieve this, the session is presented in two parts:
In the first part (60 min), the panelists will give back-to-back short talks to introduce themselves and their work, illustrating the diversity of approaches and challenges scientific communities face around the world. Some of the aspects they will address include the following:
- Recognition of indigenous knowledge and expertise
- Curricula and methodologies
- Land use
- Conceptions of modernity
- Citizen science
- Scientific education in schools
- Socioeconomic marginalization, mental health, access to science
- Historical narratives
- Languages
- Funding
- Nature-based solutions.
In the second part (90 min.), the panelists will engage each other and the audience in a moderated discussion on the following broad topics:
- Important similarities and common goals
- Relationship between local histories and the resulting differences in decolonizing work
- Changes in culture and how to affect them
- Necessary policy changes in regards to, for instance, funding, open science, and curricula.
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