The Pedagogical Value of Decolonising: Case Study (Physics & Astronomy)
A chat with Professor Anna Scaife on decolonising thermodynamics
We met with Anna Scaife, Professor of Radio Astronomy in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, to talk about inclusive teaching and her work on decolonising the physics curriculum for undergraduate students.
Decolonising the curriculum is the process of critically examining who is credited for scientific contributions, whose perspectives shape how a subject is taught, and how historical power structures – including empire and colonialism – have influenced the way disciplines developed and are presented today. The aim is not to erase existing content, but to teach it with fuller context and a broader range of voices and examples.
Anna explained that thermodynamics is one of the physics disciplines most closely tied to histories of empire and slavery, and described the steps she took to rewrite one of her courses to avoid perpetuating outdated stereotypes that reinforce this colonial narrative.
Anna is committed to inclusive practice in teaching and learning, and pointed us towards the work of Professor Wilson Poon and the EquiTea initiative – useful starting points for anyone looking to explore equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonisation in physics and astronomy.
Firstly, can you provide a bit of context to what and who you are teaching?
I teach the PHYS20151 Properties of Matter course within the Department of Physics & Astronomy. It’s a second-year course that is part of our core physics curriculum with ~300 undergraduate students. The course content has three components: properties of solids, liquids and gases, classical thermodynamics, and introductory kinetic theory. The classical thermodynamics component forms about two-thirds of the course.
Two years ago, you began a process to decolonise the way that PHYS20151 Properties of Matter was taught. What motivated this decision?
To be honest I’m not sure. I was conscious of the discussions around decolonisation of teaching materials. I also understood the social and geographic disparities in modern scientific research, and I guess that I just didn’t want my teaching to perpetuate or contribute further to that situation. I think probably the tipping point was when I saw a news article about a lecturer at another UK university who had decolonised their own thermodynamics course. I emailed to ask exactly how they had done it and then used their suggestions as a starting point for my own course.
What changes did you introduce to the curriculum and how you teach it?
I developed additional introductory material that explained the historical context in which many of the physical relationships and theorems that the course covered had been developed, and acknowledged their relationships to imperialism, the economics of power, and climate change.
Thermodynamics is the science of how heat can be converted to power. Its origins are directly tied to the industrial revolution and the expansion of the British Empire. One legacy of these origins is the way in which it is typically taught; many of the examples that are normally used in teaching classical thermodynamics are directly taken from early applications that are closely tied to imperial history (e.g., different types of engine cycle). But today there is no real reason to continue this practice, and so I developed a new corpus of worked problems and quizzes that demonstrated the same thermodynamic principles using alternative scenarios, typically drawing on natural processes and cycles, as well as renewable energies, and minimising as far as possible the legacy-type problems.
What were the main benefits and challenges of taking this approach?
One of the challenges for me as a physicist was educating myself about the relevant history and ensuring that I had all the correct information. However, this was also a very interesting and rewarding process that exposed me to part of the academic literature I wouldn’t typically see. The other challenge of course was producing a large volume of novel problem sets with full worked solutions.
How did students respond to the revised course unit?
I was quite nervous the first time I presented the historical context, because I wasn’t sure what kind of response it would receive. However, the students didn’t really react at all. There was also no feedback on this specific aspect of the course. So much so that I started to doubt whether it was useful and actually removed it the following year. I plan to bring it back this year with an explicit “decolonisation statement” in the course materials.
On the other hand, I think that the revised problems were very beneficial – but for other reasons. Because I had drawn on more modern and relatable concepts to contextualise the physics, I think the students enjoyed them more than the older, somewhat abstract, historical examples, and engaged better with the problem sheets.
Looking back, what went well, and what do you wish you had done differently?
I wish I had had the confidence to present the historical context consistently across years. Because it’s not a direct learning objective for the course, I was worried about taking up too much lecture time with historical context that I felt was important, but that wasn’t examinable physics content.
What are the next steps you plan to implement?
I will reintroduce the historical context, but I will put the detail into the online course notes alongside an explicit “decolonisation statement”. In this way, I can highlight the key aspects and point the students to the relevant information without taking up too much time in the lectures. In this way, I can also reference the material at multiple different points throughout the course without affecting the time dedicated to examinable material. This should raise a general awareness, while giving interested students an opportunity to read more about the subject.
What advice would you give to colleagues who are considering reviewing their own course through a decolonial lens?
I think that the process gave me a better understanding of my own lecture course. Deviating from tried and tested examples certainly gave me a better appreciation for the details of the subject. I also feel a much greater sense of ownership over the material in the course.
In terms of the decolonisation aspects, even a personal awareness of the context is useful. If nothing else, it helps to avoid accidentally perpetuating historical biases. The changes I made to my course were relatively minor, but hopefully they contribute in some small way to a bigger picture. There’s a great quote from Edward Everett Hale that I think applies in these cases:
“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
Edward Everett Hale
Thanks to Anna for sharing her experience.
Get Involved
If you’re already decolonising your own curriculum and would like to share your practice, or you’re just starting to think about this work and would welcome some support, we’d love to hear from you. Please complete the form below to share your experience or express your interest: Join the conversation on decolonising STEM.
Further resources
Decolonising STEM Education: In this article, we explore practical ideas on how to make teaching more inclusive.
Decolonising the thermodynamics curriculum: In this blog post, Professor Stephen Beck (University of Sheffield) reflects on the necessity of decolonising the STEM curriculum by moving beyond purely technical instruction to include social and historical contexts.
