I recently attended a field trip and some presentations with the ADI Geo-History program at the University of Missouri. During those presentations, we learned many things about geoheritage, which is defined simply as the intersection of geology with human experiences and values. How these things overlap is crucial to being a responsible geoscientist and preserving and furthering diversity in the geosciences.
Most importantly, we discussed the experiences and struggles of those most marginalized by the colonialist history of the geosciences, those being BIPOC individuals across the planet. BIPOC people have been cruelly subjected to the theft of their land and people, while being forced to share space with the people who committed these atrocities in the first place. As part of this, their voices have historically been, and still are, devalued and overlooked, which inhibits the extent to which BIPOC individuals may participate in and contribute to the geosciences. Being Black myself, I can personally attest to how demeaning and frustrating it is to work in a field where few people look like you, and fewer still seem to have any interest in listening to your lived experiences or even giving you the space to discuss them in the first place. This creates the imperative to amplify these voices, ensuring that BIPOC people are given the space to share their perspectives and weigh in on practices that directly affect them. Too often, BIPOC people are spoken for and about rather than being the ones to tell their own stories. Attending presentations about Indigenous knowledge and perspectives and the importance of listening to and valuing these perspectives gave me hope that the discipline is making progress toward making this practice more commonplace.
I heard from people who are actively working to make a difference in the state of diversity and inclusion in the geosciences. Teachers presented their work on creating databases and accessible learning resources about geoheritage sites that students themselves could edit and improve. This allows students with personal or cultural connections to sites to add their voices to the things people could learn about them, reinforcing the importance of responsible environmental stewardship and respect for the land they inhabit. Others discussed a thought process of seeing the world with two eyes, those of a scientist, and those of a person with feelings for the world around them and valuing both perspectives differently depending on the situation to create a more holistic view of the world instead of seeing things unemotionally. Scientists often see the world overly rationally, discounting personal thoughts and emotions of those affected by science and only giving weight to the scientific value of their work. We also discussed specific geoheritage sites and their significance to different kinds of people, not only focusing on the significance white people assigned to them after stripping them of their true, original value. This was very nice to see as somebody who is far too accustomed to watching these kinds of things be ignored by the greater geoscience community.
While all of this was heartwarming to see and gave me hope for the future of the geosciences, it also inspired me to want to do more work on improving the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion in my field. Moreover, I gained some new ideas on how to proceed in that work. I now have some specific objectives I want to put effort into, such as helping to contribute to communal learning resources like the ones I learned about in the program and incorporating them and elements of them into the courses I teach in the future. Furthermore, I want to impart on my students the importance of geoheritage: how to value it and the voices that shape it. Ultimately, what I took away from my time with the program was the imperative to continue working on amplifying BIPOC voices and perspectives, and the knowledge that many others are doing the same. Especially today more than ever, in these times where diversity itself is being challenged as a valid concept, and people of diverse backgrounds are being made to feel unsafe and insecure in their jobs and place of learning, I believe it is more crucial than ever to fight to protect diversity and to remember its importance to our field.
https://msstate.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8vonPetQQ5IJHcG
Please consider providing feedback about your thoughts on geohistory and this post using the link or QR code above!