T192 G-IRL: Collaborations and Conversations on Practicing Geoscience and In-Real-Life Applications for Dismantling Scientific Siloes

Tuesday, 17 October 2023
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
330

PRELIMINARY REPORTS FROM THE 2022 SECOND NATIONAL CONFERENCE AND THE 2072 WRITING TEAM

Paper number: T192-13
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 4:20 PM – 4:35 PM

Authors

Abstract

In 1972, the First National Conference on Minority Participation in Earth Science and Mineral Engineering brought together >300 people, including geoscientists, civil rights leaders, industry professionals, and public officials, to discuss broadening participation in the discipline. After fifty years (August 14-17, 2022), the Second National Conference: Justice in Geoscience was held in Washington, DC and brought together >300 participants in-person and online to accomplish four goals: community and coalition building; celebrating our legacy; creating radical Earth-learning environments; and creating the 2072 Report, a roadmap for the next fifty years. In the time since the second conference, the 2072 Writing Team was assembled with the mission of creating a report that will contain not only the conference archive, but more importantly, strategies, advice, and visions for advancing justice in geoscience over the next fifty years. Our approach to crafting this report is distinct from other efforts because it applies critical theories from social science, Black studies, and geography to purposefully decenter whiteness, reduce harm, and promote justice. We also intentionally trouble disciplinary silos by engaging with Black feminist texts and by emphasizing the intersections between the arts and geoscience. Here we provide updates on our collaborative progress towards the four conference goals and will feature and platform the work of several writing team members. For example, we describe a collective framework for effective DEIJ practices in institutions using the garden and gardener metaphor, and practical case examples that show effective enactment of change in institutions. This framework posits that practices intended to promote DEIJ should involve geoscience institutions (serving as gardens) and made up of diverse expertise and enthusiasts (faculty, staff, and students as gardeners) with a common goal of broadening participation, providing support, and creating effective allyship. We share our collective and individual progress to model best practices for students and early career professionals seeking to work together and individually to effect change in the geosciences and pursue cultural transformation of the discipline.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-395597

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