reading (etc) list
Below is an inexhaustive and ever-expanding list of papers and articles that I have found helpful throughout my process of decolonizing my science and striving towards enhancing the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) of my space at Duke. For a list of DEI events at Duke's Nicholas School, see this link.
Decolonization of Ecology
Decolonization is the practice of "actively undoing [colonial] systems and ways of thinking" (Trisos et al 2021). Decolonization is not a metaphor or a stand-in for other diversity, equity, and inclusion work (Tuck & Yang 2012); it specifically centers on acknowledging and dismantling the history, present, and future of settler colonialism in our own scientific work. Decolonization cannot only happen "in the mind"; it must be an action in the world to unwork the harms of settler colonialism. That being said, these are some good places to start:
Eugenics: A Dark History of Ecology and Statistics
When I first began studying ecology, I had no idea how much both ecology and statistics are intertwined with the history of the eugenics movement in the United States.
Land Acknowledgement & Action
See this page for more information on my Land Acknowledgement journey.
The "Global South"
The use of the phrase “Global South” marks a shift from a focus on development or cultural difference toward an emphasis on geopolitical power relations... It references an entire history of colonialism, neo-imperialism, and differential economic and social change through which large inequalities in living standards, life expectancy, and access to resources are maintained. (Dados & Connell 2016) INTERSECTIONALITY, FEMINISM, & ENVIRONMENTALISM
Intersectionality, first coined by Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989, describes the need to not only address specific marginalized pieces of a person's identity (specifically Black womanhood) but to understand that the combination of these two or more identities compound to create a unique situation of marginalization, violence, and oppression. I don't pretend to be any sort of expert on this topic, but here are a few resources that I am working my way through to self-educate and do better.
Discrimination and Accessibility in Field work
(ANTI-)Racism in ecology & Science
In October 2022, the publication Nature published a special issue entitled Racism: Overcoming science's toxic legacy. Here are some pieces that stood out to me (an evolving list).
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