A Guide for Educators

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Introduction

Welcome, Educators! The educational resources in our Climate Science and Colonialism education project are designed for high school through undergraduate college settings, although scholars and teachers at the Masters’ level may also find the resources useful. There are many ways to use these resources. Broadly speaking, they may be used in one of the following two ways:

1. Incorporation into pre-existing courses in any discipline: educators might wish to take some of these resources into existing curricula in order to enrich and inform their courses. In this document, we provide some suggestions as to some ways these might be done.
2. Creation of an independent course focused on Climate Science and Colonialism. This may be best suited for undergraduate college and the graduate level.

This Users’Guide begins with a broad list of Learning Outcomes for the resources as a whole, followed by an overview of topics and themes presented in the form of two concept maps/ mind maps. We then present a grid for each module, that summarizes, along with time stamps, themes and sub-themes in order to make it easier for you to see cross-connections and determine which sections of the modules, in what order, might be best suited for your courses. Finally, we provide some suggestions for incorporating this material into your courses, based on the above two possibilities.

No matter how you decide to use these materials, we strongly suggest that you first review the materials in the Preliminary Module. This includes

• Preparatory Discussion and a list of readings on Indigenous ways of knowing
• Climate change science basics,
• Readings to understand terms such as colonialism, imperialism and coloniality).

The Preliminary Module provides foundational knowledge and information that is common to all the modules. The Preparatory Discussion in particular is motivated by the need to break from the standard, conventional and colonialist approach to learning that has become the default mode in education around the globe. It presents a re-orientation that foregrounds student experiences and local knowledge as a beginning place for exploring climate science and colonialism.

Broad Learning Outcomes for the Climate Science and Colonialism Education Project

After completing the modules in the Climate Science and Colonialism Education project, including the Preliminary Module, students should be able to demonstrate the following:

Knowledge and Understanding

Articulate in multi-modal ways (oral, written, kinesthetic, artistic) the meanings of terms such as ‘ways of knowing’ and ‘knowledge systems’, Indigenous ways of knowing and scientific methods/ways of knowing, colonialism, imperialism, coloniality; including also basic terms relevant to the understanding of climate science, evidence and impacts, such as greenhouse gases, greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, fossil fuels, climate models, climate justice, etc.

Application:

Describe how science, and climate science in particular, has its origins in colonialism, and explain how colonialism continues to affect climate science at different scales, with examples.

Explain how climate change impacts their local, regional and national areas and articulate different perspectives and debates that arise from this.

Describe how colonialism has affected their local, regional and national areas.

Comment by C. Kendra Gotangco Gonzales: Illustrate? Evaluate? (Just to have options for different verbs. "Describe" is used multiple times.)

Comment by Vandana Singh: I will work on this! The emphasis in this way of doing learning outcomes is to have verbs that are very specific (and measurable).

Analysis/creativity

Explain how climate science basic knowledge relates to their local situation and culture and compare how climate, weather, and climate change are conceptualized in science and in other ways of knowing such as the local culture, Indigenous ways of knowing, etc.

Synthesis/creativity

Describe common ground between multiple ways of knowing that can potentially lead to better responses to climate impacts and related issues in the local region.

Comment by C. Kendra Gotangco Gonzales: Characterize?

Comment by Vandana Singh: Will work on re-wording.

Demonstrate, through discussions and activities, an ability to appreciate perspective-based learning/ communication, which includes self-awareness about one’s own perspective and the ability to detect the shift of lens in a narrative (that is, to hear the different voices, including the muted ones, in a narrative)

Describe ways in which decolonial and equitable approaches could be co-created with local communities so as to foster effective and just climate adaptation and mitigation, and apply this learning to their local contexts through collaborative projects, when possible

Quick Overview: Concept Maps of Talks and Themes

Above: the seven talks arranged according to scale and speaker

Above: the seven talks organized by theme

Quick Overview: Themes and Sub-themes of Each Module

Note: the timestamps refer to the two videos of the seven talks.

Module 1: Video 1 – History of Climate Science and Colonialism (Mercer & Simpson)

Timestamp	Topic
1:05:19 to 1:09:56	Imperial Climate Knowledge-Making & Transmission: What was behind the growth of interest in Climate Science in the industrial West during the 19th Century
1:10:10 to 1:12:50	The biographical approach to history – the ‘great men’ theory and the history of climate science.
1:12:51 to 1:23:06	Summary: Five themes on Climate Science, Colonialism and Empire
1:23:07 to 1:26:02	Lasting legacies of Colonialism: the IPCC - the international framework for consensus building in climate science and climate action
1:26:54 to 1:29:58	The value of histories of Climate Science: Neo colonialism in the IPCC process and Ocean Science Diplomacy Cross-reference: talks by Yamina Saheb and Andrei Polejack respectively

Module 2: Video 2 – Co-production of Knowledge: Colonialism within Arctic Research (Rudolf)

Timestamp	Topic
00:35:00 - 00:56:01	Speaker establishes her positionality as both a member of the Iñupiaq community from King Island, Alaska and as a climate researcher and scientist
00:39:39 - 00:40:03	Defining knowledge co-production. History of failure in research with marginalised communities.
00:40:03 - 00:41:41	Boundaries in CPK or Modes of Work
00:43:24 - 00:44:46	The Big Picture: Framing CPK as Triple -Loop learning
00:45:22 - 00:46:07	Research as a Colonial Act
00:46:38 - 00:48:10	Othering and ‘At Risk’ People
00:51:31 - 00:52:35	Colonial Acts in Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) programme

Module 3: Video 1 - Nagbabago ang ihip ng hangin (The Wind Changes Direction): Colonialism and Climate – A View from the Philippines; (Cruz)

Time stamp	Topic
37:12 – 40:10	Personal experiences situated within the milieu (current events, hot issues); Discerning conflicts or dissonance in what was being taught (e.g. between political economy, law, business and marketing, international development)
40:10 – 43:30	Dependency theory · Is it still relevant? Is it outdated? · Continues to be the basis for climate justice, and the “ecological debt” of the North to the South · Book: Bananas, Beaches and Bases, tells stories reflecting the Dependency Theory · Alerts us to patterns of unequal exchange
43:40 – 48:55	Galtung’s Triangle of Violence · How Dependency Theory was about direct violence and structural violence, and how cultural violence can legitimize the former · Is “sustainable economic growth” a form of cultural violence? Is “sustainability” or “sustainable development” desirable? · An invitation to deconstruct binaries / binary oppositions (e.g. speciesism, sexism, nationalism, racism, colonialism etc) · An invitation to reconstruct capacities for peace; to understand what our identity is, whatever has been suppressed, and take ownership · Realization that Dependency Theory is not enough
48:55 – 51:24	How to address all the violence? · Gandhi: unity of life, unity of means-and-ends · Vandana Shiva: on the recovery of the sacred, ecofeminisms of the Global South facing climate change · Both Gandhi and Shiva as having been trained in the West but drawing from and embracing the cultures they were rooted in
51:24 – 54:50	What is “colonial” vs. what is “Filipino”? · Learning about the “workings” of the Filipino mind · E.g. Christianity as adapted into the Filipino culture as different from that of colonizers · Laudato Si’ encyclical: tone of atonement; to bridge cultural divides e.g. with indigenous faiths; call for restoration and recovery of the sacred, whatever your religion is
54:51 – 59:30	Tensions between the science and sacred · Matrix of high/low leaning towards science vs. high/low leaning towards the sacred · Most destruction coming from those in the low/low quadrant · High/high quadrant as a quadrant of hope, citing again the Laudato Si’ which embodies science + faith · Lack of desire or effort towards a more systemic change as a reflection of low sacred · Tension between SDG goals (which accommodate structures we have in place) and call for more radical change / ecological conversion

Module 4: Video 1 - Addressing (post)-colonial and Western biases in climate science: examples from South Asia (Mehta)

Timestamp	Topic and key points
18:07 – 19:55	The colonial roots of the concept of sustainability · The privileging of some ambitions and interests in sustainability and climate-related work e.g. three pillars of economy, social, environmental · The political and contested nature of concepts that have roots in colonialism including sustainability · The historical and ongoing exploitation of natural resources · Racialized discrimination and other forms of discrimination in sustainability and climate-related work
19:55-20:52	Dispossession of land in the name of sustainability · Ideas around “primitive” use of land prior to capitalist ventures · Land removed from indigenous people and/or indigenous practices changed in the name of conservation. · People being denied access to the commons in the name of green energy (solar, wind etc.)
21:00-24:45	Climate change uncertainty · Uncertainty as a key feature in the way climate is problematized and climate action implemented · Different types of uncertainty across scales · Science from ‘above’ uses · quantitative methods for calculating uncertainty based on probability ignores place-based experiences of everyday uncertainties, and indigenous knowledge of people · general response to uncertainty is towards control · The need for diverse knowledges and strategies to enable just climate action (climate action that does not perpetuate colonial processes). · Considering knowledge (and associated uncertainties) from above (“official” knowledge epistemic uncertainties), middle (knowledge brokers) and below (everyday experiences – climate/weather interacting with many other place-based factors).
24:54-29:05	Addressing (post)-colonial and Western biases in climate science · Drawing on different knowledge domains and methods together – co-production across actor groups · Understanding history, colonial definitions/policies of land, which try to “normalize” land against the grain (e.g. irrigation) and which continues to shape land policies · Move from globalizing instinct to a human-centred climate science (e.g. when considering different types of and sources of uncertainty). · Arts approaches that help to show everyday experiences of climate (e.g. photovoice, childrens’ painting etc.) · Drawing on local understandings and everyday experiences in policies and plans to make adaptation more attuned to local contexts · Challenging dominant narratives and pathways. · Challenging invisible white and elite biases · Embracing uncertainty, include critical social science and hybrid perspectives, tackle power relations, decolonize mainstream science, scope for bottom-up processes of transformation

Module 5: Video 2 - Coloniality in Science Diplomacy - Evidence from the Atlantic Ocean, Andrei Polejack

Time Stamp	Topic
01:0000	Colonialism vs Coloniality
01:29:34 - 01:30:01	Atlantic Colonialism
01:30:02 - 01:30:51	Science and Christianity; cross-reference: Module 3, Nikki Carsi Cruz talk
01:30:58 - 01:33:30	Coloniality of Power
01:33:30 - 01: 34: 38	Parachute Science
01:34:39 - 01:36:22	Consequences of Coloniality
01:36:430-01:42:13	Science Diplomacy & Coloniality in Science Diplomacy
01:42:42 - 01:44:07	Unequal Science

Suggestions for using the resources

The materials can be used in a number of ways. This section provides some examples of how you might integrate them in existing courses or draw on them to create new ones. For example, Incorporation into pre-existing courses in any discipline: educators might wish to take some of these resources into existing curricula in order to enrich and inform their courses.

Example 1: an introductory undergraduate Earth Science course on Climate Change

We recommend starting with the Preparatory Discussion from the Preliminary Module, allowing students to share their own experiences and local/cultural understandings and stories about climate, weather, risk and uncertainty. The notion of local/ Indigenous knowledge systems can then be introduced.

If not already covered in the course at this point, introduce climate science as another important way of knowing. Key concepts such as the difference between weather and climate, the causes of current climatic change and the scientific evidence, and the current and future impacts, should be explored. It is especially important to emphasize local climatic impacts, as many students around the world are unaware of the extent to which climate change will impact or is already impacting them. For example, many do not connect climate change with the increased risk of extreme weather events.

Next, introduce the ideas of colonialism, imperialism and coloniality. It is important to apply these to students’ current context and the extent to which these have affected education and lives everywhere, and continue to do so. This concludes the preliminary aspect of the exploration.

Educators may, then, make the choice as to whether to take the historical route regarding the embeddedness of climate science within colonialism, and how it manifests in, for example, IPCC deliberations as elaborated in Module 1 (Mercer and Simpson) and Module 6 (Saheb). Or, they might want students to explore how climate policy and climate action can be conceived and implemented through a decolonial and democratic lens by exploring approaches in the Arctic (Rudolf, Module 2) and in South Asia (Mehta Module 4). We recommend – where possible – team teaching for a course of this kind (for example, an Earth Science professor teaming up with a History professor).

Example 2: a high school world history course

Some modern world history books already have sections describing the role of climatic change in societal shifts, for example droughts contributing to the fall of certain civilizations. They also are likely to discuss colonialism and imperialism. However, the relationship between the origins of climate science and colonialism – including present-day manifestations such as coloniality – are unlikely to be elucidated in conventional history classes. In many parts of the world, the ‘great men’ perspective of history still dominates, ignoring the role of women, ‘ordinary’ people, social forces and natural environmental shifts in shaping the course of civilization.

We suggest starting with the Preparatory Discussion from the Preliminary Module, allowing students to share their own experiences, local/cultural understandings and stories about climate, weather, risk and uncertainty. The notion of local/ Indigenous knowledge systems can then be introduced and contrasted with the (Western) scientific way of knowing. Basics of climate science: the causes, the evidence and the impacts, can help students understand how science works. Question can then be posed: how did we get here? What can we learn from history? Why are there different ways of knowing, and which are dominant and why? If not already introduced at this point, the meanings of colonialism, imperialism and coloniality can be clarified in the context of the Industrial Revolution and European colonialism. The birth of science as we know it, including Newtonian/ Cartesian mechanistic ways of constructing reality, can be introduced in upper level courses. The role of colonialism in shaping science, climate science in particular, can then be illuminated through Module 1 (Mercer and Simpson). If the course allows for a chance to contrast different ways of knowing, an exploration of the Alaskan Arctic context (Rudolf, Module 2,) can make the differences clear.

Creation of an independent course focused on Climate Science and Colonialism

Educators in a position to design their own course can create one around (but not limited to) the modules in this compendium. Here, the two concept maps shown earlier and reproduced below may be of use, as well as the grids showing sub-themes of each module. Again, we suggest beginning with the Preparatory Discussion and thereafter, exploring local/Indigenous versus scientific ways of knowing, as well as the key terms, colonialism, imperialism and coloniality. Basics of climate science, including causes, evidence and impacts, should be studied with a focus on connecting the local to the global. Once this has been done, a possible pathway through the resources might be:

1. Historical origins of science and climate science and its relationship to colonialism (Module 1, Mercer and Simpson; refer also to talk by Roy)
2. Current-day manifestations of coloniality in climate policy and ocean science (Module 5: Polejack, Module 2: Rudolf and Module 6: Saheb)
3. Toward decolonial climate science (Module 2: Rudolf, Module 3: Cruz, Module 4: Mehta)

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