TURNING THEORY INTO CULTURAL CHANGE: A DISCUSSION ON THE APPLICATION OF DISABILITY CRITICAL RACE THEORY (DISCRIT) IN THE GEOSCIENCES (Invited Presentation)

While research continues to explore issues of broadening participation in the geosciences, it is important to understand the historical culture of the discipline that continues to foster exclusionary practices. The geosciences were built on a foundation that perpetuates a culture of colonialism, racism, conquest culture, ableism, and countless other sources of marginalization and oppression. Such aspects of this culture continue to hinder the participation of underrepresented groups, especially when it comes to field-based learning and research experiences. The social issues present in the field require new theoretical frameworks to push for a more inclusive geoscience culture. This presentation will discuss how social science frameworks rooted in the intersectionality of identity can be applied to geoscience classroom, lab, and field experiences to better address the foundational issues that continue to negatively impact broadening participation efforts. In this call to action, disability critical race theory (DisCrit) is highlighted as a framework for exploring the intersections of race and ability, specifically, within the geosciences. This presentation will discuss the key aspects and social science origins of DisCrit, the relevance of DisCrit-based approaches towards addressing cultural issues in the geosciences, and provide guidance and support on how DisCrit-based approaches can be pursued on the institutional and/or departmental level to enhance existing programs and curricula for working towards a more inclusive geoscience culture.