Geography's popularity as an academic discipline, is historically rooted in the Age of Discovery, which began in the 15th Century stretching through to the 1600s. During this time, several European expeditions took place including extensively searching for a Westward trade route through Earth's largest continent, Asia.
Developing the study of Geography as a social science of imperialism was motivated by an intrinsic desire to conquor unexplored areas and in the process, map them and influence the politics, economic policy and culture of that location. The rising popularity of Geography as an academic discipline came hand-in-hand with the rise in colonialism. Geographical tools such as shipbuilding, navigation and cartography were hugely important to the expansion of the British Empire.
Decolonising Geography critiques and fundamentally questions the reproduction of colonial systems of knowledge in our classrooms.
Decolonisation can be broadly understood as an umbrella term for diverse efforts to resist the distinct but intertwined processes of colonisation and racialisation, to enact transformation and redress in reference to the historical and ongoing effects of these processes, and to create and keep alive modes of knowing, being, and relating that these processes seek to eradicate. (Stein & Andreotti 2016, 978–981)
A common map used in Geography classroom is actually inaccurate and misleading. Pupils deserve to question and critique it. If we are not careful, this map becomes ingrained in the subconscious of learners as the absolute truth of how the world should be viewed . It uses the Mercator projection , distorting the shape and size of land-mass closer to the Poles. It was created a a time when European colonial powers were seeking to assert geographical dominance . We must be appreciative of the historical context. It was devised along Colonial trade routes so Europe was designed to be larger than it actually is.
What does one actually mean by decolinising the subject?
Providing learners with the opportunities to explore a plethora and variety of different cultural perspectives and viewpoints related to a geographical issue, and not just the Eurocentric version. In fact, to decolonise means to provide autonomy and agency to vulnerable members of largely forgotten communities. We can derive a lot of wisdom from learning about indigenous communities and their sustainable ways of living. Fundamentally, this relates to epistemology: how we decide what is true and the source of knowledge. Human knowledge and experience is passed through generations. A melting pot of cultures and ideas have often led to a flourishing of scientific advances necessary for the advancement of society. Basically, we learn best from others. Drawing attention to indigenous geographies/geographies in the topics we teach means developing an inclusive and diversified Curriculum based on an array of interesting case-studies that develop learners' geographical enquiry. We consider homogeneity in this field and the need for pluralism. This also involves institutional change (creating a more diverse workforce) and facilitating better opportunities for black, Asian and other ethnic minority Geographers to rise up the career ladder and become agents of change.
An informed learner is an individual who has the capacity and confidence to think outside the box. Questioning the terminology used in exams and assessments. Geographers like to categorize. It makes the subject easier to contextualise for learners. However, a problem arises when we becoming over-reliant on generalizing and lazy classifications such as 'developed/developing world', especially as required knowledge to pass exams. The late Hans Rosling advocated that what most people think of as the divisions between the “developed” and “developing world” no longer exist. I recommend classes take the Gapminder quiz.
I am always on the hunt for up-to-date, geographically fresh and relevant examples and case-studies to teach. However, before I teach about a foreign location or far-away place, I ask myself the following questions:
a) How can i present a balanced view of this location to my class?
b) How can I get my pupils to independently learn about the location and it's geographies from a place of compassion and empathy? In the process, I may develop some starter tasks to help my pupils debunk any stereotypes or misconceptions they may have of the location. Ideally, if teaching about a location that is impoverished , I will want my pupils leaving the topic with a clearer understanding of how to help improve conditions in that community.
c) How am i choosing the photographs of this location to use in my lessons? Are these actual photos of the location with the correct descriptive captions? How might these photos help guide the learning that takes place within the lesson? Geography is a tremendously visual subject, don't forget. Which websites am I sourcing information from to use in my presentations and resources? Are these websites credible? How do I know if they are reputable sources? What videos am I showing about the location to my pupils? Behind every statistics about development is a person and/or community. That person has feelings and emotions we must empathize with.
d) To what extent am i involving pupils in their own learning? When teaching about another location, I want to find out more about people, place and environment with the learners in my classroom. Collaborative learning tasks, research-based and enquiry-led will help pupils engage more in what you are trying to teach. It also helps develop their self-efficacy and meta-cognition skills. If i wanted my class to learn about the relationship the Sami people have with the fragile Tundra, I'd want to encourage my learners to develop their own success criteria and set of questions they would like answering. I may create broad categories and issues for them to research and report on related to the Sami communities- lifestyle, threat of climate change, agriculture etc. and facilitate and get them to switch between groups, peer-assess and discuss findings. This obviously works more efficiently and effectively if the lesson is planned coherently in terms of ICT resources, expectations, classroom management and pace & challenge.
e) Am I providing opportunities for my pupils to question the terminology which might be used to describe communities? When describing and detailing foreign locations, am I using generalizing phrases and encouraging pupils, perhaps without realising, to create generalizing remarks about other locations? For example "xx community has poor sanitation" Is that actually true? Dharavi, in Mumbai, actually has very high employment rates due to the sheer variety and quantities of small enterprises and industries within the locality.
f) Have I made a proactive effort to teach about the impacts of imperialism and colonialism on the advancement of that location- socially, politically and economically? Social inequality in Rio's favelas is rooted in institutional racism.
Geography is an important subject that has the potential to drive meaningful change within society. The last year has proven why learning and teaching Geography is crucial- COP 26, erratic weather patterns, an eruption near Tonga, an earthquake in Haiti, flooding in Europe, droughts and wildfires in California..the list is endless. How we teach Geography involves thinking about the colonial histories that have , traditionally, helped influence the subject as an academic discipline, and then questioning them.