INS 12-8 - Championing Inclusive Terminology in Ecology and Evolution (CITEE)

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

Location: 520A

Presenting Author(s)

ST

Shersingh Joseph Tumber-Dávila

Harvard Forest
Stanford, CA, United States

Co-Author(s)

MB

Marcella Baiz

Postdoctoral Fellow
Pennsylvania State University
SC

Susan J. Cheng

Manager of Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Michigan
KD

Kathy Darragh

Postdoctoral Researcher
University of California, Davis
CE

Cesar Estien

PhD Student
University of California, Berkeley, United States
KG

Kaitlyn M. Gaynor

Assistant Professor
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, United States
DI

Danielle Ignace

Assistant Professor
The University of British Columbia, Canada
LK

Lily Khadempour

Assistant Professor
Rutgers University-Newark, United States
CL

Christopher Lawrence

PhD Candidate
Princeton University
MM

Matt McCary

Black Ecologists Section, United States
KM

Kirby Mills

PhD Candidate
University of Michigan, United States
AM

Alex Moore

University of British Columbia, United States
MR

Mallory M. Rice

San Francisco State University
JS

Justine A. Smith

University of California Davis
Davis, CA, United States

We present our grassroots initiative, CITEE, to facilitate dialogue around harmful terms used in our discipline and their potential replacements. Continued use of terminology rooted in systems of power and oppression maintains these systems—including by perpetuating stereotypes and microaggressions about marginalized communities. While the challenges of advancing equity and justice in ecology are great, we as individuals can take immediate action to thoughtfully choose the words and the languages we write and speak. In this talk, we introduce our group’s objectives and survey to obtain the EEB community’s input on how our discipline can champion the use of inclusive terminology.