Dear Colleagues,
The Resources for Inclusive Evolution Education (RIE2) collective
is organizing a virtual working group to develop inclusive teaching
modules for undergraduate courses that improve and deepen understanding
of evolutionary concepts and examine their historical and social
contexts. One of the first places students engage with evolutionary
biology in-depth is in undergraduate courses, and evolutionary concepts
can be confusing and difficult to grasp at this early stage. Furthermore,
to facilitate a deeper understanding of evolutionary concepts within
our classrooms and research community, it is important to address how
exclusionary systems influenced foundational work in our disciplines,
and how it continues to shape the way we study the natural world.
We are seeking scientists, historians, sociologists, and Science
and Technology Studies scholars of all career stages who want to
collaborate in small interdisciplinary teams to develop accessible
undergraduate teaching modules that help educators combat misuse of
evolutionary concepts as well as examine and dismantle the eugenic
and settler-colonial underpinnings of the field. Potential concepts
include: fitness, heritability, sexual selection, and more. Through this
experience, participants will connect with others interested in evolution
education, develop important pedagogical skills, and create a citable
teaching resource shared on QUBES . Participants
will also receive a small honorarium, thanks to funding from the American
Genetics Association and the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.
We are providing two options for participation: a shorter,
"hack-a-thon" style model over this summer or a longer timeline
that extends into the fall. If you are interested in participating,
please fill out a short Google application form by 5 p.m. PT on
June 5, 2024. Accepted participants will be notified by early June:
https://forms.gle/SU4gujeGKC4nT4P49.
You can find more information about this working group at
https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/rie2. Please contact
inclusive.evoedu@gmail.com with any questions, suggestions, or if you'd
like to contribute further to this effort.
Please forward this message to your networks.
Thank you!
Alejandra Camargo, Dr. Nancy Chen, Dr. Angela Google, Dr. Kiyoko Gotanda,
Dr. Suegene Noh, Amanda Puitiza, Lucia Ramirez, Dr. Banu Subramanian,
Juleyska Vazquez, Dr. Yaamini Venkataraman
Nancy Chen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
University of Rochester
popgenchenlab.github.io/
Pronouns: she/her/hers
"Chen, Nancy"
(to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to
golding@mcmaster.ca)