Who We Are
We are a group of students at Brown University who are dedicated to the betterment of the scientific community. To this end we created a course titled Race and Gender in the Scientific Community. We used this course not only to learn about representation in the scientific community, but also to make a positive impact on our campus. This course ran in Fall 2014.
Why We StudyScientific facts are universal; they are empirical and do not depend on race, gender or ethnicity, nor on sexuality or nationality. Then why does being a scientist depend on all these things? When it comes to representation in the sciences, even a cursory glance of statistics on the matter will show that something is amiss. The image of white, bearded men as the doers of science --- as both teachers and students --- unfortunately still pervades our minds and our classrooms. Brown is not immune to this lack of diversity in the sciences, which is what has motivated us to create this course. We aim to spend a semester delving into the disparities in representation in science, the issues facing various groups in the sciences, and the methods and policies to diversify the scientific community.
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What We Study
We begin our studies by creating a solid foundation to discuss this topic. To do so, the course will draw on an interdisciplinary set of readings from the history, philosophy, and sociology of science to gain a strong background in the theories surrounding diversity in science. We will briefly cover how science tends to operate, and what the scientific persona is, both historically and today. We will review statistics of representation at all levels of science and discuss arguments for diversity in the sciences as a whole. After gaining a background and theoretical framework from which to begin exploring these issues, we will focus in turn on the specific problems faced by underrepresented minorities, women, LGBTQ community members, and well-represented minorities, drawing on sociological, anthropological, and psychological studies, as well as personal narrative and testimonials from scientists experiencing these issues first-hand.
Once we have created a good picture of the issues that affect representation in science, we will move on to the second part of the course: studying how the lack of diversity in science can be alleviated or eliminated. We will examine various theories and practices in science education and science communication, and the effectiveness of top-down and bottom-up approaches that have already been
attempted. We will discuss and evaluate the efficacy of these different policies and methods.
However, the problem of representation in science is not a mere academic pursuit, but a practical issue that is played out daily in many members of the Brown community. It is therefore our responsibility to apply the knowledge we learn to directly improve representation. To do this, the course will conclude with activism projects. These individual or small group projects will emerge from our exploration of the literature surrounding this issue, as well as analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of past and current strategies for improving the current situation in the sciences. We will bring in various scientists, theorists, and activists throughout the course to help guide us in our own activist ventures, and will spend a good deal of the last part of the semester discussing our projects and strategies with each other, in an attempt to make our activist work both realistic and impactful. This hands-on experience will be invaluable to help us develop a nuanced understanding of the complex nature of this issue as we talk to individuals who are personally affected by these issues.
Once we have created a good picture of the issues that affect representation in science, we will move on to the second part of the course: studying how the lack of diversity in science can be alleviated or eliminated. We will examine various theories and practices in science education and science communication, and the effectiveness of top-down and bottom-up approaches that have already been
attempted. We will discuss and evaluate the efficacy of these different policies and methods.
However, the problem of representation in science is not a mere academic pursuit, but a practical issue that is played out daily in many members of the Brown community. It is therefore our responsibility to apply the knowledge we learn to directly improve representation. To do this, the course will conclude with activism projects. These individual or small group projects will emerge from our exploration of the literature surrounding this issue, as well as analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of past and current strategies for improving the current situation in the sciences. We will bring in various scientists, theorists, and activists throughout the course to help guide us in our own activist ventures, and will spend a good deal of the last part of the semester discussing our projects and strategies with each other, in an attempt to make our activist work both realistic and impactful. This hands-on experience will be invaluable to help us develop a nuanced understanding of the complex nature of this issue as we talk to individuals who are personally affected by these issues.