Decolonising Science and Medicine

This module explores the concept of decolonization in Higher Education Institutes, with a specific focus on Science and Medicine.  

You will investigate the extent to which Science and Medicine from the Global North as we know it today, have been largely founded on colonialism, oppression, slavery, discrimination and injustice. This will form the basis for critical analysis of key historical events [e.g. Tuskegee Experiment: the infamous Syphilis study; J Marion Sims (The Father of Modern Gynaecology) surgically experimenting on enslaved Black women] and the extent to which they perpetuate exclusion and injustice on modern day education, healthcare and clinical practice. You will present your research in an individual opinion piece that will be formulated with objectivity and supported by existing evidence and literature. All differing viewpoints backed by research and evidence are highly welcome and recommended to enhance the vibrancy and robustness of discussions and debates.  

This module will also enable you to reflect on the role you can play now and in future, regardless of your career paths, to dismantle systems founded on racism and oppression and contribute to an ecosystem of equality, diversity and inclusion. Through this module, you will become co-creators of solutions and strategies to make Science and Medicine more inclusive and representative, which can then be integrated into the Exeter curricula. 

This module will be available to students both within and outside of the Medical Sciences programme (where programme specifications allow). Prior subject knowledge is not required.

Decolonizing higher education curricula has been more energetically discussed within the sphere of university scholarship and research since the ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ Oxford’s campaign. Much light has been shed on the necessity of critically assessing the colonial legacy of the higher education institutes in the UK. The National Union of Students in the UK has been running campaigns such as ‘Why is My Curriculum White?’ And #LiberateMyDegree since 2015. These movements have now given universities a platform to dismantle aspects of coloniality in the curricula. 

Decolonizing Science is often perceived to be irrelevant with unclear definitions and poorly understood contexts. This module encourages you to investigate the extent to which knowledge generated from the Global North (Europe and America), in terms of research, education, communication and practice have been built on colonialism, slavery, oppression, discrimination and injustice. You will explore the problematic nature of studying Science and Medicine from only the Eurocentric/Western lens, overlooking its historical contexts and excluding non-Western knowledge creators. You will get opportunities to discuss and debate the extent of impact and influence of historical atrocities on our education and healthcare practices today. All differing viewpoints backed by research and evidence are highly welcome and recommended to enhance the vibrancy and robustness of discussions and debates.  

The module further encourages you to interrogate the lack of visibility and representation of ethnic minority knowledge creators and question if there is a culture of non-acceptance of knowledge produced from the Global South. You will get an opportunity to explore the vast contributions made by scientists from the ethnic minorities and individuals who are not commonly represented in academic Literature.  

The module intends to empower you to start difficult conversations, take actionable steps and hold decision makers accountable in order to facilitate the deconstruction and transformation of the unrepresentative Eurocentric knowledge systems. You will identify, within your own positionality, how to push for the dismantling of unfair and discriminatory systems and investigate if such systems have enabled European and North American universities to dictate knowledge perception and dissemination. 

Subject matters like these elicit a myriad of responses and thoughts, so it is intended that you will learn to express and communicate your opinions, backed by research and facts, in a respectful and empathetic manner. It will also encourage you to work in groups and consider varying points of views and embrace objectivity when presenting your thoughts. 

RE-ASSESSMENT NOTES 

Please refer to the TQA section on Referral/Deferral: http://as.exeter.ac.uk/academic-policy-standards/tqa-manual/aph/consequenceoffailure/ 

INDICATIVE LEARNING RESOURCES - The following list is offered as an indication of the type & level of information that you are expected to consult.Further guidance will be provided by the Module Convener.

[Book] Decolonizing the University 
Edited by Gurminder K. Bhambra, Kerem Ni?anc?o?lu and Dalia Gebrial, Pluto Press, 2018. 

[Book] Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present 
By Harriet A. Washington, Doubleday Books, 2006. 

[Book] Science, colonialism, and indigenous peoples: The cultural politics of law and knowledge  
By Laurelyn Whitt, Cambridge University Press, 2009. 

science, history, ethics, medicine, medical sciences, colonialism, decolonization, racial injustice, oppression, discrimination, equality, diversity, Western medicine, Western Science, European Science