Earlier this year we had feminist perspectives on glaciology. But that raises the obvious question, why haven’t we yet had a feminist perspective on syllabi in science courses? Not to fear, though. Laura Parsons, a graduate student from UND, is here to fill that void with Are STEM Syllabi Gendered? A Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis.
Through a poststructuralist lens, it is possible to make a comparison between a modernist view of knowledge as based on notions of absolute truth and a single reality, which is masculine, and the social construction of knowledge, where knowledge is unstable and informed by context … The view of knowledge as socially constructed challenges the modern male concept of power
Ok, so to make sure I’ve got this right, to believe that there’s a “single reality”, and that some facts are simply true and not socially constructed, is masculine. Onwards!
The STEM syllabi explored in this study demonstrated a view of knowledge that was to be acquired by the student, which promotes a view of knowledge as unchanging. This is further reinforced by the use of adverbs to imply certainty such as “actually” and “in fact” which are used in syllabi to identify information as factual and beyond dispute (Biber, 2006a; 2006b). For example, “draw accurate conclusions from scientific data presented in different formats” (Lower level math). Instead of promoting the idea that knowledge is constructed by the student and dynamic, subject to change as it would in a more feminist view of knowledge…