Course on diversity, equity, and inclusion fills gap in biology/ecology graduate education

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Anita Simha, Lauren Carley and Raymond Allen, Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, Anita Simha and Lauren Carley, University Program in Ecology, Duke University, Durham, NC, Lauren Carley, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, St. Paul, MN, Raymond Allen, Development and Stem Cell Biology Program, Duke University, Durham, NC

Background/Question/Methods
Structural barriers have prevented the participation of historically excluded groups in biology. Personal biases of scientists from dominant groups can affect the kinds of questions they ask and the ways they interpret data. These factors together have affected biological research through history and make a case for the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in current-day academia. However, the dark history of biology is rarely taught at the graduate level. Because an awareness of one’s field and its evolution are requisites of graduate education, the omission of the social and historical forces that have shaped the field leads to an incomplete education for graduate students. Further, such an omission perpetuates structural barriers and personal biases. To address this gap, we developed a syllabus to explore inclusion, diversity, equity, and antiracism (“IDEA”) efforts in biology and allied fields. In the process, we consulted with faculty in fields like African/African American Studies, Science & Society, and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies to make choices about discussion topics, reading accessibility, and course structure.
Results/Conclusions
In the course, we explore the history of racism and oppression in biology and interrogate the epistemic values embedded in the field and its subfields. We divide the course into three themes: theory and history, contemporary issues, and professional development. These themes inform our learning objectives for the course – that students should be able to recognize inequities in the history of biological research; describe ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in universities; and apply best practices for inclusion in their own careers. We focus each class period on group discussion of readings, with at least one guest speaker per theme. We had initial enrollment of 18 students with a 9-student wait list for spring 2021. Given the high demand for the class, we coordinated with our department to teach the class annually. Student self-assessments show critical understandings of narratives about science as objective, neutral, and authoritative. They also show greater awareness of scientific malpractices through history, ranging from gynecological research done on enslaved Black women to the reification of white supremacist scientists like Ronald Fisher and Garrett Hardin. Finally, students report greater access to tools for understanding and combating structural inequities within the academy today.