Learning Context
In a traditional syllabus, required readings are typically presented as a static, alphabetical reference list. While this format provides complete citation details, it treats all texts uniformly without revealing the underlying perspectives or frameworks that shape them.
Design Challenge
Standard reference lists fail to signal diverse or non-dominant perspectives beyond a uniform block of text. Because these citations lack visual context or interpretive metadata, students cannot easily discern the epistemological breadth or cultural backgrounds represented across the course materials.
Design Objective
How can we design a reading list to highlight decolonized perspectives?
Design Experiments
First, I conducted brief research into how reading lists are evaluated through a decolonization and epistemic equity lens, leading to the following three criteria:
Decolonizing & Epistemic Equity Evaluation Criteria
- Racial & Cultural Diversity: Authorship centering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color perspectives and lived experiences.
- Whose voices and lived experiences are centered as authorities on this topic? Does the course material reflect racial, ethnic, and cultural plurality beyond white, Western scholars?
- Global & Geographic Equity: Scholars working in, or scholarship originating directly from, the Global South (e.g., Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, South Asia).
- Where is this knowledge being produced? Does the reading list over-rely on institutions in the Global North (US, UK, Canada, Europe) to define global phenomena?
- Epistemic Diversity: Knowledge systems, methodologies, and theoretical frameworks rooted outside Western academic models (e.g., Indigenous ways of knowing, relational frameworks).
- How is “valid knowledge” defined in this course? Are alternative ways of knowing, learning, and designing given equal academic legitimacy?
Then, I chose the following four tags to provide meta data (context) for each reading:
Tags
- Racial & Cultural Diversity
- Global & Geographic Equity
- Epistemic Diversity
- Western/Eurocentric Baseline
>> In Progress
Annotated Reading List: file:///Users/ran/Desktop/gem%20code%205.html
Dashboard: https://view-diverse-paths.base44.app
Further Design Exploration
How can we offer insights through a dashboard—including overall scores, analysis charts, and recommended resources—to help faculty include more diverse perspectives in their courses?