Decolonising the physics curriculum: starting with thermodynamics. What, why, and how?

Decolonising the physics curriculum: starting with thermodynamics. What, why, and how?

Prof Wilson Poon

The first lecture of my 2021-22 Junior Honours course on classical thermodynamics started with the history of the subject, showing how its origins were deeply implicated in imperialism and slavery. I asked the students to consider if this mattered, and argued that, far from ignoring it, we should approach the subject with our eyes wide open to its problematic past. Several ways in which I taught the main subject matter were influenced by this consideration as I sought to give it a ‘decolonised flavour’. In this seminar, I shall explain what I mean a ‘decolonised flavour’, why I think it matters, and how I actually took the first tentative steps in decolonising the thermodynamics curriculum.

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