EXNS 2801 - Indigenous Peoples as Subjects/Objects
Course Description
This course provides foundational lessons about historical scientific relationships between Indigenous communities and colonial science fields in North America. Students will be introduced to key terms, nuances, and concepts to identify what decolonization means and how it can be pursued in science and research today. This class informs learners about impacts on Indigenous nations and non-humans from science practices, how they have taken place, and how to build ethical practices in varying contexts and advance Indigenous governance.
Who Should Take This Course?
This course is ideal for beginners interested in understanding the historical and ongoing relationships between Indigenous communities and colonial science in North America.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- 🗸 Identify the hierarchies implicit in colonial science, learn how science is used for the continuation of settler colonialism and to strengthen the authority of the state, and outline how this differs from relational ways of thinking.
- 🗸 Describe how Indigenous peoples have been victims of genocide based on the United Nations definition from the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
- 🗸 Relate colonization to historical trauma of Indigenous peoples and identify how this connects to public discourse.
- 🗸 Identify the ecological relationships among humans, plants, and space and how restitution, restoration and botanical decolonization can be pursued.
- Identify the main bioethical considerations regarding research with Indigenous peoples.
- 🗸 Become familiar with biocolonialism and delve into examples to learn how it has taken place.
- 🗸 Describe the main principles of intercultural justice and consider how they would advance Indigenous governance and revise ethical guidelines.
Notes
Recommendations
Textbooks
All material is available online and no textbooks are required.
Record of Completion
Printable certificate; non-credit transcript; digital badge
Alumni Professional Development Grants help University of Alberta alumni achieve their career growth goals by removing financial barriers to high-quality, meaningful career education and personal growth opportunities offered by the UAlberta and its partners. Apply here.
CONTACT US
Email nsonline@ualberta.ca with any questions.
Testimonials
"This course opened my eyes to conceptions of science and how it relates to Indigeneity ... it definitely forced me to rethink my relations to genetic information, microbes, and more." - Anonymous
Applies Towards the Following Programs
- Indigenous Peoples and Technoscience Series : Courses in the Series