DER Weekends: Physics professor brings race, gender into the classroom to build better scientists
“Detroit Evening Report Weekends” spends time with the community members who make up Detroit’s rich culture and identity.
Prasad Venugopal teaches in the physics and African American Studies departments at the University of Detroit Mercy.
On the latest episode of DER Weekends, WDET’s Sascha Raiyn spoke with professor and activist Prasad Venugopal, who teaches classes in physics and astronomy at the University of Detroit Mercy. But, he says, for a long time his work in the sciences felt completely separate from his activism around social justice issues.
When he received a grant from the Jesuits for a course called Science, Technology and Race, he had the chance to marry those two identities — scientist and activist. Venugopal says that meant he could be his “whole self” in the classroom and truly explore how identity and the practice and history of science intersect.
Now that course is part of the university’s core curricular offerings in the African American Studies department and just one of several ways Venugopal guides students through conversations at the intersection of science, gender, ethnicity and race.
He spoke to Raiyn about the course and why changing how scientists talk about identity leads to better science.
Listen to the episode using the media player above.
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