A Small Step Towards Decolonizing Curriculum in Online Education

A recent area worth pursuing in the world of education is the concept of decolonizing curriculum.

Small but mighty steps are being seen in support of this effort.

In late 2018, the coding language Python removed the words master and slave (Atwell, 2018) from it’s lexicon, and Harvard removed the word ‘Master’ from titles of those in charge of residence halls (Coughlan, 2016).

“One of the most significant problems relating to gaps in the curriculum in higher education is the lack of representation of black and minority ethnic groups. This is commonly referred to as the colonisation of the curriculum” (Keele University, n.d.).

Dr. Yvette DeChavez (2018) writes about her efforts to decolonize her syllabus,

“The fact is, if academia continues to uphold white men as the pinnacle of literature, they’re also continuing to uphold white supremacy. And when you teach mostly white men, you perpetuate the falsehood that only their voices matter, that only their voices shape America. Furthermore, one of the great things about literature is that it cultivates our critical thinking. Given what’s going on in this country, a literature class that shows us the perspectives of the very people who are erased, called criminals, “illegal” or worthless seems pretty important, a chance for people to think more critically about what they see in the world and the stereotypes they’ve grown up hearing. If students are able to hear a different version of the story, one straight from the source, perhaps their world views might shift in a direction that means indigenous and black and brown people will no longer have to fight for their basic human rights.”

Powerful. In reading an article with 100 things you can do to start this effort within your own curricula, I’ve selected two actions educators and curriculum designers should apply or consider:

• “#89: Consider arts based and non-dominant forms of demonstrating understanding including re-storying, photo essay, performance, reflective writing etc.
• #90: Name the dominant worldview; make visible non-dominant world views and work” (Pete, n.d.).

As a UX (user experience) designer it is critical to hear from the audience you are designing for. In an effort to hear from students at the University where I work, I brought a student panel to my office where the student responses indicated the need for #90. Students want to know that if their curriculum is centered around a canon, where all their course information is about white men, that the instructor knows this and names it. They want to know the multicultural aspect of what they are learning, or if they aren’t, that the instructor is aware of the lack of perspectives and notes the limited view of who they are learning from.

In my own practice:
What about removing the word master (ie master schedule, master course) from your own workflow? I’m currently proposing this for our online course development that we replace the word ‘master’ in place of another word. In his speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” King, (1968) advocates for small yet powerful actions and although each step to decolonize your curriculum might feel small, these small steps have been shown to move mountains.

References:

Atwell, A. (2018). The Python Programming Language Just Got Rid Of These Racially-Charged Terms. Retrieved from: https://blavity.com/the-python-programming-language-just-got-rid-of-these-racially-charged-terms

Coughlan, S. (2016). Harvard abolishes ‘master’ in titles in slavery row. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/education-35659685

Dechavez, Y. (2018). It’s time to decolonize that syllabus. Retrieved from: https://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-jc-decolonize-syllabus-20181008-story.html

Keele University. (n.d.) Keele Manifesto for Decolonising the Curriculum. Retrieved from: https://www.keele.ac.uk/raceequalitycharter/raceequalitycharter/keeledecolonisingthecurriculumnetwork/keelemanifestofordecolonisingthecurriculum/

King, M., L. (1968). “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” [audio, speech]. Library of Congress.

Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqq-Sxp1GKg

Pete, S. (n.d.). 100 ways to Indigenize and decolonize academic programs and courses. Retrieved from: https://www.uregina.ca/president/assets/docs/president-docs/indigenization/indigenize-decolonize-university-courses.pdf