Instructor Guide for Advancing Justice-Centered Community Science

Advancing Justice-Centered Community Science is a five-chapter textbook meant to be used in graduate or undergraduate geoscience and/or environmental science courses as an introduction to this emerging framework of scientific research and community engagement, with particular emphasis on those who historically have been underserved.

Applicable course usage: environmental science and geoscience

Applicable level of course: undergraduate and graduate

The chapters and their learning outcomes are organized as follows:

Chapter 1. Justice-Centered Science: Understanding How Science Can and Has Impacted Communities

1. Identify the key components of Western science practices
2. Explain how science practices have resulted in harm historically and contemporaneously
3. Define justice-centered science
4. Articulate a code of research ethics that incorporates an understanding of justice-centered science

Chapter 2. Understanding Community for Researchers

1. Articulate students’ own political, social, and cultural context
2. Articulate how the social and political context brought to engaging with a community might influence relationships and connections with a community
3. Identify common concepts that can be used to define community

Chapter 3. Defining Justice-Centered Community Science

1. Define community science on the spectrum of scientific practices and methods
2. Explain how community science impacts science outcomes and communities
3. Describe a range of common community science practices
4. Explain a decision-making framework for selecting research methods and engagement strategies when working with a community
5. Describe how community science is an example of justice-centered community science

Chapter 4. Practices and Strategies for Ethically Engaging with Communities for Science

1. Identify ethical and equitable practices for partnering with communities
2. Identify common constraints and concerns in working with communities
3. Select strategies to navigate common constraints and concerns in working with communities
4. Create a road map for engaging with a community

Chapter 5. Codesign: Strategies for Practicing Science with Communities

1. Identify community-specific needs, priorities, and interests for a particular community project
2. Select strategies to work with communities to develop community-driven (community developed) research questions and projects
3. Create a research plan that employs practices and principles of community science and prioritizes community-specific needs, interests, and preferences

General Tips for Using the Text

1. Structure

• Familiarize yourself with the layout: As a start, browse through the components of the textbook, including the table of contents, chapters, and glossary. Understand how the content is divided and organized (using the topics in each chapter specified above).
• Identify key sections: Look for features within the text, including learning outcomes, case studies, discussion questions, and summaries, that will support your teaching.
• Determine the approach of the authors: Note the tone, depth, and perspective of the textbook. How does it present information—narrative, visual aids, examples, etc.?

2. Alignment

• Match chapters to your course goals: Identify the textbook sections that align with your course syllabus objectives. Plan how to include the references at the end of each chapter into your lesson plans.
• Set clear learning outcomes: For each chapter or section, define what you want students to learn or achieve, including or beyond what is presented in the learning outcomes at the beginning of each chapter. This will help focus students’ reading and your lectures.

3. Lesson Planning

• Introduce the material in class: Preview the chapter in your lecture by highlighting key themes, concepts, and case studies to help guide students’ reading.
• Use the textbook as a foundation: Teach the essential concepts from the textbook, but supplement it with additional examples, case studies, or current events to enrich the content (see examples provided in this manual).
• Create a schedule: Plan how much reading students should do each week and provide expectations for deadlines and assessments related to the textbook material.

4. Active Reading

• Assign prereading questions: Give students questions to consider before they read a chapter, thereby priming them for key ideas and concepts.
• Encourage note-taking: Teach students how to actively engage with the chapters by marking, highlighting, and/or summarizing sections as they read.
• Highlight important sections: Point out areas where students should pay extra attention (e.g., bolded terms, graphics) to support learning.

5. Textbook Features

• Discussion questions: Use any provided questions within the text to promote classroom discussions, group work, or written assignments.
• Case studies: Assign questions on case studies presented (or use the repository of case studies here, organized by chapter) to deepen understanding and help students apply concepts.

6. Critical Thinking And Analysis

• Ask open-ended questions: When discussing textbook material, pose questions that challenge students to think critically and analyze the information. For example, ask “Why do you think the author emphasized this concept?”
• Encourage comparison: Have students compare the textbook content with other readings or current research to foster a more comprehensive understanding of the subject.
• Debate perspectives: If the textbook presents multiple perspectives or controversies, encourage students to debate or discuss the pros and cons of each viewpoint.

7. Multimedia

• Assign videos or podcasts: Supplement textbook content with multimedia that explains difficult concepts in alternative ways, reinforcing the material from different angles.

8. Assessment

• Quizzes and assessments: Regularly quiz students on the material they’ve read to ensure they are engaging with the textbook and retaining key concepts.
• Group projects: Assign group projects that require students to use the textbook as a reference to solve problems or complete tasks, enhancing collaborative learning.

9. Adaptation

• Flexibility is key: Don’t feel obliged to follow the textbook in order. Adapt the material to fit your teaching style and natural course progression. You can rearrange or supplement chapters as needed.
• Highlight your expertise: Use the textbook as a tool to support your unique insights from your particular region. Additionally, incorporate examples or case studies from your own professional experience to complement the material, or ask students to track these down as an assignment.

10. Feedback

• Ask students for feedback: Ask students if they find the textbook helpful. Are certain chapters confusing? Is there content that needs more explanation?
• Adjust as necessary: On the basis of student feedback and assessment results, modify your use of the textbook. If certain sections aren’t as effective, you may need to provide more context.

Using the Text as a Whole

Possible Usage A

Consider helping students understand how justice-centered science impacts communities by tracing a specific case study relevant to their region, culture, or class through all the chapters.

Chapter 1: Students research and present a case study (other than the ones provided in the text) that illustrates how science has historically harmed or benefited communities. They should focus on determining any ethical lapses or successes.

Chapter 2: Students examine the community that was impacted by the science in their particular case study, including the political, social, and cultural contexts.

Chapter 3: Students investigate how community science was or, if it was not, how it could have been used in the case study to empower the community and create better scientific outcomes.

Chapter 4: Students identify ethical and equitable practices that either were or should have been applied in the case study to better engage with the community.

Chapter 5: In teams of two to three students, design a codesigned research project for the community involved in the case study, incorporating lessons learned from the earlier chapters.

Possible Usage B

In teams of two to three, have students design their own community research project addressing all elements from each chapter, including what community engagement would look like and what ethical concerns may arise. Students should choose a topic or issue that has relevance to their own community if possible. They will research any historical or potential harms that have arisen. A deeper dive includes understanding their community’s political, social, and cultural context and how it might influence their research project. This research can include conducting actual interviews with community members. In designing the project, students should determine how they would involve the community in the scientific process. For example, what methods of engagement will be used? Students must reflect on how to ensure that the project positively impacts both the science and the community, the key needs and priorities of the community, any ethical challenges, and how to make sure research practices that they propose are just and equitable.

Hot spots of environmental issues globally: https://www.ecohubmap.com/hot-spots/all/all

Using the Chapters as Stand-Alone Modules

Extra discussion questions and case studies are provided for potential deeper dives so that the chapters can be used as stand-alone and shorter modules within a longer course if desired.

Chapter 1. Justice-Centered Science: Understanding How Science Can and Has Impacted Communities

1. How can scientific research be used to empower communities, especially those that have been marginalized in the past?
2. What role does (and should) community-driven research play in shifting the balance of power in scientific endeavors?
3. How do we make sure that scientific advancements are accessible and beneficial to all communities?
4. How could inequities be addressed, especially as they pertain to access to education, technology, and health care, when using justice-centered approaches to science instead?
5. Regarding ethics, what responsibilities do researchers have for science that may lead to long-term effects on the health and well-being of communities?
6. Should researchers be held accountable for social impacts of discoveries or innovations, particularly in frontier fields like biotechnology or energy?

Chapter 2. Understanding Community for Researchers

1. In what ways might scientists deepen the social, cultural, and historical contexts of the communities they work with?
2. What would be some strategies that are sensitive to community values, practices, and histories?
3. Why should members of a community be involved in the planning and execution of scientific research projects?
4. What are the benefits from community involvement that concern relevance, trust, and sustainability of scientific projects in the longer term?
5. How might scientists build trust in communities where members were subjects of exploitation or harm in earlier research or by scientific projects?
6. As shown in case studies, how have building trust through transparency, continued communication, and mutual decision-making led to better ethical and effective results of research?
7. How might researchers make sure they are addressing the actual needs and concerns of the communities being studied, rather than focusing on priorities imposed from outside?
8. How do researchers balance research goals against community-defined needs?
9. What issues are likely to occur in trying to work with communities, and how might such issues be resolved to ensure fair partnerships?
10. What are some potential conflicts due to issues of power, incongruent goals, and/or communication barriers? How might these be diminished?

Chapter 3. Defining Justice-Centered Community Science

1. What is meant by justice-centered science, and how does it differ from more conventional ways of conducting scientific research?
2. How does a justice-centered framework shift the focus of scientific study?
3. How does the use of justice-centered science ease social and environmental inequalities, and what, in your opinion, are some of today’s most urgent issues that can best be or are actually being addressed with this approach?
4. How can justice-centered science address international challenges such as climate change, health disparities, and clean water?
5. What are the major principles defined as defining justice-centered science, and in what ways might those principles play out in real-world scientific projects?
6. How can the concepts of equity, inclusivity, and ethical responsibility translate into practical strategies for researchers?
7. How would you go about measuring the success or outcomes of justice-centered scientific efforts, and what metrics might best define and determine whether such initiatives were meeting their own objectives?
8. How can possible metrics, such as community satisfaction, long-term sustainability, or redistribution of resources and benefits, be used in justice-centered science?
9. What are some of the challenges or limitations inherent in justice-centered science, particularly within technological, health care, or environmental research?
10. What are the potential trade-offs or tensions involved in aligning justice-centered approaches with the priorities of scientific funding agencies, corporations, and governments?

Chapter 4. Practices and Strategies for Ethically Engaging with Communities for Science

1. What steps can scientists take to ensure that their research is aligned with ethical considerations for communities?
2. How might scientists address the ethical issues that arise in working with vulnerable or marginalized communities, including issues such as power imbalance and historical exploitation?
3. What should be done to safeguard communities and to ensure that research benefits communities and does not exploit them?
4. What is the role of informed consent in ethical research practice, especially with communities without prior experience in formal scientific processes?
5. How would a researcher seek to ensure meaningful, culturally appropriate, fully informed consent?
6. How can researchers avoid imposing their preconceived biases and assumptions on the communities they are working with, but rather develop a collaboration of mutual learning?
7. How do humility and cultural competency play an integral role in scientific research?
8. How will long-term partnerships be more sustainable and impactful on outcomes between scientists and communities?
9. What are the benefits of continuous involvement, capacity building, and co-management in scientific projects?

Chapter 5. Codesign: Strategies for Practicing Science with Communities

1. What are the most significant benefits of codesigning scientific projects with communities, and in what ways is this different from the traditional research models based on top-down approaches?
2. How does codesign enable better relevance and impact of scientific studies to communities?
3. How can community members trust researchers to consider all voices within a community and have represent them in this codesign process, especially those voices among marginalized groups within the community?
4. What strategies ensure equitable participation, outreach to underrepresented groups, and the creation of a safe space for dialogue?
5. What are some of the common challenges scientists face in the codesign of projects with communities, and how might these be addressed so that community members can trust them to work in cooperation?
6. What are some possible challenges arising with regard to priorities, timelines, or expectations from either the scientist or the community that may differ?
7. Codesigning research projects involving communities may be a new way to develop more effective scientific outcomes. How can the integration of Traditional Knowledge, cultural practice, and community knowledge lead to new kinds of approaches or realizations that might not have been achieved with conventional methods of research?
8. How might the scientists and the community ensure that any benefits arising from a codesigned research will be equitably shared, with the community retaining ownership of the knowledge and the solutions developed?
9. What are some concerns regarding intellectual property, publication of research results, and the long-term care of resources and knowledge produced by the research?

Case Study Repository

The Cancer Alley Environmental Crisis (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4092077)

Summary: An 85-mile tract of land along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, is host to an unusually high number of industrial facilities, including refineries and petrochemical plants. It has been termed “Cancer Alley” because its residents, largely low-income, African Americans, have been suffering from much higher rates of cancer and respiratory illnesses from the resulting pollution.

Impact: Environmental scientists have documented severe public health effects in the area, with a cancer risk reportedly as high as 50 times the national average. To date, however, very few regulatory agencies have taken action, and many of the affected communities have found it hard to have their voices heard in discussions about environmental policy.

Justice Implications: Cancer Alley is a textbook example of environmental racism since communities that are low income and minority are always highly represented where industrial pollution occurs. It is also a case showing how environmental policy and regulation have failed to safeguard marginalized communities from the health effects of industrialization.

Lesson in Justice: This case also drives home the demand for environmental science that is justice minded as a means to call for increased regulation, corporate accountability, and inclusion of community rights in the decision-making processes. This, in fact, is a case that epitomizes how race and class intersect with environmental health in scientific inquiry and advocacy.

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Kingston TVA Coal Ash Spill of 2008 (https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/avnervengosh/files/2011/08/EST_TVA_impact1.pdf)

Summary: On 22 December 2008, around 1 a.m., failure of a dike used to store coal ash at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant released 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic coal combustion slurry into the Emory River and into residential areas. Although the spill itself occurred in Tennessee, there are similar coal ash storage sites in the southern United States that may pose risks to public health and the environment in the future. Coal ash is a mixture of toxic heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, and lead, which are capable of contaminating water supplies and air quality.

Impact: Many coal ash ponds in the South are located near communities of color and low-income communities, raising environmental justice concerns about the long-term health impacts of their exposure to this toxic waste. Although the TVA cleaned up the initial spill, concerns remain over other sites like this throughout the Southern United States, which may not be ready with a similar response.

Justice Implications: This case exemplifies disproportionate environmental hazards in marginalized communities and, second, a lack of urgency in the South as to how big a potential risk coal ash contamination is. It also underlines the need for transparency and increased regulatory oversight into the ways industrial waste management protects public health.

Lesson in Justice: The spill of coal ash and other incidents like that have given a lesson in justice, leading to Congress taking new steps toward stronger regulation and enforcement of environmental laws, particularly in communities most susceptible to the harm such industrial pollution can cause. It stresses again that the participation of local communities in decisions about environmental health and safety is imperative.

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Hurricane Katrina and Scientific Response (https://academic.oup.com/sf/article-abstract/98/2/1/5475560?login=false)

Summary: In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina’s destruction, poor infrastructure and lack of timely responses from the government led to low-income or predominantly Black communities taking the brunt of the disaster. Scientific and technical solutions were crucial to their rebuilding needs, including flood modeling and levee systems. However, there was a disconnect between scientists and the respective needs of the local communities.

Impact: The recovery underlined the need for an essential understanding of community needs in both disaster response science and urban planning since grassroots organizations felt overlooked by governments.

Community Perspective: Grassroots organizations also played important roles in rebuilding and advocating for more inclusive and just recovery practices. They teamed up with scientists and engineers to make sure that their needs were well represented.

Justice Lesson: This example supports the need to involve scientists and communities in building resilience and developing disaster mitigation strategies that serve all populations alike.

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The Gold King Mine Spill (Colorado) (https://superfund.arizona.edu/sites/superfund.cals.arizona.edu/files/gold_king_mine_spill.pdf)

Summary: In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) caused an accidental spill at the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado, while trying to drain ponded water near the entrance of the mine. It released 3 million gallons of toxic waste into the Animas River. The river turned orange from the spill and polluted water supplies downstream that supplied communities on Native American lands, such as the Navajo Nation, who use the river for agricultural and household water needs.

Impact: The spill affected the local environment, economies, and agricultural and ranching communities. For the Navajo Nation, which was one of the most affected, the aftermath included contamination of its limited water resources and loss of income because their crops and livestock had been poisoned.

Justice Implications: This incident has put into perspective the disparate impacts of environmental disasters in Indigenous communities and the additional safeguards required when dealing with legacy pollution from extractive industries like mining. It further illustrates common systemic barriers these communities often face in the pursuit of reparations and cleanup.

Justice Lesson: Here the environmental legacy of extractive industries in the West is comparable using justice-centered environmental science. It gives consideration to prioritizing justice when addressing historical and contemporary harms due to extractive industries. It reinforces how Indigenous voices should be included in the restoration and decision-making portions of environmental management.

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Salton Sea Ecological Disaster (California) (https://tos.org/oceanography/article/salton-sea-environmental-work-and-the-importance-of-community-science)

Summary: The Salton Sea in Southern California used to be a thriving resort area but is now an environmental disaster. Agricultural runoff, salt, and mineral buildup caused by drying water sources have gradually turned it into a toxic and briny mess. Mass die-offs of fish and birds plagued the sea, along with toxic dust from the surface of the drying lake bed, which poses serious health risks to surrounding communities, many of whom are low-income Latino agricultural workers.

Impact: The environmental degradation has caused severe health problems among those who have asthma and are prone to other respiratory diseases residing around the Salton Sea. The crisis epitomizes the junction of environmental justice, public health, and agricultural practices in the region.

Justice Implications: Low-income and largely Latino communities are the most affected by the Salton Sea’s decline, making the issue a function of environmental racism with no government response to this crisis. Despite years of local advocacy from residents and environmental groups, meaningful remediation remains far from materializing.

Lesson in Justice: The Salton Sea case also illustrates how ecological sciences based on justice place the onus of unevenly applied stresses contributed by environmental degradation on the backs of oppressed peoples. The case raises long-term questions relative to balancing out environmental restoration with the needs of farmworkers and their families.

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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (Gulf Coast) (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1202250/full)

Overview: The Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig exploded in 2010, making it the single largest marine oil spill in history. This rig, operated by BP, spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and devastated marine ecosystems, fishing, and tourism-based ways of life of coastal communities. The majority of these communities are low-income economies with a high reliance on the natural resources of the Gulf.

Ethics in Engagement: In the postspill phase, scientists, agencies, and organizations were engaged in better understanding—from a scientific point of view—the complete impact that the disaster had on the environment and human health. Community members participated in environmental monitoring, data collection, and decision-making processes to ensure their voices were represented during the cleanup and restoration effort.

Key Practices and Strategies Used:

• Community-led environmental monitoring: Community-based fishermen and residents were trained in collecting water and seafood samples, thus providing real-time data on the spread of oil and its impact on marine life.
• Codesigning research agendas: Research priorities were set by the community; studies focused on long-term health consequences of the spill, loss of livelihoods, and restoration of natural resources.
• Compensation and restoration efforts: Community involvement allowed scientists and government agencies to design the specific needs of restoration projects, such as oyster reef and wetland rebuilding, that would help the communities earn their living in better ways.

Justice Implications: The response to Deepwater Horizon showed the need and importance for involvement of the affected communities in the recovery processes of environmental disasters with their full engagement in the decision-making processes. It also built a platform for ethical commitment by corporations and the scientific community to prevent harm and contribute to long-term recovery.

Lesson in Justice: This case exemplifies the need to introduce ethics into disaster response in general, and environmental disaster response in particular, so that scientific undertakings are open and inclusive, serving the ecosystems and humans dependent on those ecosystems.

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Love Canal Environmental Disaster (Niagara Falls, New York)

(https://eng.libretexts.org/Courses/Hawaii_Community_College/Ecology_and_Environment%3A_Extended_Version/08%3A_Environmental_Hazards_and_Human_Health/8.05%3A_Case_Study_-_The_Love_Canal_Disaster)

Summary: Love Canal initially was a failed canal project, made worse when the Hooker Chemical Company used it as a dump site for 21,000 tons of chemical waste. In the 1970s, residents of the surrounding neighborhood near Niagara Falls began reporting serious health issues such as birth defects, miscarriages, and cancer, likely caused by toxic chemicals leaking into and contaminating the groundwater. It took grassroots activism efforts from the local community for the government to declare a state of emergency and evacuate the residents, despite early warnings.

Impact: Love Canal is considered one of the darkest moments in environmental pollution and neglect in the United States. It brought into the open the atrocities accompanying ill-managed chemical waste disposal and gave birth to the famous Superfund program, which held polluters liable through the cleaning process of toxic sites.

Justice Implications: This is a perfect example of environmental injustice in which a working-class community was left to bear the health consequences of corporate negligence. It also underlines community activism and scientific evidence in addressing environmental hazards that are disproportionately felt by the most vulnerable populations.

Justice Lesson: The overarching theme in the case of Love Canal is how science done by citizens and community advocacy can shed light on crises in environmental health. It also tries to show that strong environmental regulations would have prevented this disaster and corporations must be responsible for their acts.

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Contamination of the Woburn Water Supply (Woburn, Massachusetts)

(https://www.jstor.org/stable/2288982)

Summary: In the 1970s and 1980s, north of Boston in the quiet residential town of Woburn, Massachusetts, a strange pattern was emerging: Many cases of leukemia and other developmental effects were showing up in the children compared to nationwide trends. Years later, W. R. Grace and Beatrice Foods were found guilty of having dumped industrial waste contaminated with chemicals into the town’s water supplies. The chemicals included trichloroethylene, also known as TCE, known to cause congenital heart defects and central nervous system defects, among other serious impacts. This case went on to spark a legal battle and public outcry that attracted national attention.

Impact: Woburn’s water supply contamination revealed the risk of industrial pollution to public health. The case went on to become the basis for the book and film A Civil Action, documenting the community’s fight for justice. Although the companies were initially deemed not liable, the case spurred new changes in the handling of cases of water contamination both legally and scientifically.

Justice Implications: This case underlined that systematic failures of corporate responsibility, regulatory oversight, and environmental protection that were all systemic in their failures, which allowed a vulnerable community to fall victim to toxic chemical exposure. A long, arduous court battle underlined the challenges faced by communities in the struggle for justice against powerful industrial interests.

Justice Lesson: The story of Woburn is about corporate transparency, better environmental health protections, and communities that have scientific tools and legal support necessary for the defense of their rights to clean water and a healthy environment.

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The Navajo Nation Uranium Mining

(https://academic.oup.com/minnesota-scholarship-online/book/14277?login=false)

Summary: During the mid-20th century, mining of uranium was conducted on lands of the Navajo Nation without informing residents of possible health risks. The Navajo people have consequently developed severe health problems such as cancer and respiratory ailments, emanating from long-term radiation exposure from mining operations.

Impact: This is a case that typifies why justice-based science needs to be oriented toward communal well-being and self-sufficiency. In this case, the scientific practice was mainly for profit and exploitation, without much concern for the health or the environmental viability of the Navajo people.

Justice-Centered Approach: In recent years, the focus has been on justice-centered actions of cleanup, compensation of the affected families, and inclusion of the Navajo community in the land use and environmental restoration decisions. This case draws attention to the need for informed consent, disclosure, and community involvement in scientific enterprises, particularly in practices affecting the health and environment of poorer communities.

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Akwesasne Mohawk Environmental Pollution (New York)

(https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/522/)

Description: The Akwesasne Mohawk Nation along the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York has been exposed to industrial pollutants from nearby manufacturing plants for generations. Specifically, PCBs and heavy metals from aluminum smelting have polluted the river and its fish and wildlife, staples of the diet and culture of the community. Recognizing the myriad health effects, the Akwesasne community collaborated with scientists to define how the environmental contamination was affecting its health and ecosystem.

Ethical Engagement: The Akwesasne Task Force on Environment led community-based participatory research into the study of the effects of PCBs, among other contaminants, on the community. Traditional Knowledge of the Indigenous Peoples, their values, their and decision-making processes were respected in the research.

Key Practices and Strategies:

• Codesign of the research projects: The Akwesasne community were integrated into each phase of the research process, from study design through result interpretation. This integration was important to ensure the research captured the community’s concerns and cultural practices with a focus on traditional foods and subsistence fishing, which had been contaminated by toxic chemicals.
• Culturally appropriate communication of findings: Sharing findings in a manner that respected Mohawk cultural practices and values was done with the active involvement of researchers. Examples include public health messaging framed in light of Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
• Long-term collaboration: The Akwesasne community partnership with environmental health scientists has lasted for several decades, with active monitoring and research programs to improve environmental quality and public health.

Justice Implications: This is a classic case of ethical engagement with Indigenous communities at the center of environmental health research. Traditional Knowledge was valued, and the community was at the center of the research process in which scientists supported the Akwesasne Nation in its quest to address environmental injustices while preserving their cultural heritage.

Justice Lesson: The Akwesasne case, along with many others, serves to illustrate the paramount importance of a respectful long-term partnership in the environmental sciences, particularly when working with Indigenous communities. Ethical engagement in scientific work will ensure benefits occur in a manner that respects the values and priorities of the cultural community.

Addressing Student Challenges

A topic such as advancing justice-centered science can sometimes trigger emotional responses from students, especially sensitive issues like historical injustices and inequality, as well as racial or gender disparities. As an instructor, it is imperative you are prepared to support students emotionally and academically.

1. Acknowledging Sensitivity 

• Set the tone early: Before starting with the course material, acknowledge that some of it may be emotionally challenging for the students. Emphasize that these topics are important, but it is normal to feel affected by them.
• Create space: Encourage an inclusive and comfortable classroom environment. Close the classroom door if students will feel more comfortable sharing their concerns that way. Go outside for a more peaceful setting. Make it clear that respectful dialogue is key and all perspectives are valid.

2. Trigger Awareness

• Identify sensitive areas: Recognize that certain content (e.g., discussions on racism or inequality) may hit closer to home for some students. Provide warnings for potentially triggering content when necessary.
• Monitor reactions: Watch for students who disengage during discussions or are visibly upset. Offer them the opportunity to take a break if needed.

3. Emotional Reflection

• Provide space: Give students the time and space to reflect on their feelings, which can be accomplished through individual written reflection exercises and/or group discussions.
• Ask open-ended questions: Use questions like “How does this topic make you feel about the role of science in society?” or “What personal connections do you see between this material and your own life or community?” to learn more about the student’s feelings and reactions to the topics at hand.
• Facilitate discussions: Allow students to express their concerns in class discussions. Let them share how the content impacts them personally and how it resonates with their values or experiences.

4. Emotional Processing

• Acknowledge emotions: Validate feelings by recognizing the emotional difficulty of some topics. Stating “I understand this is hard to talk about and it’s okay to feel upset or frustrated by it,” can go a long way in supporting a student.
• Offer support: If a student seems particularly upset, offer to meet one-on-one with them to discuss what they are feeling. If you cannot help, provide information on available campus support resources. Be aware of these resources, as well as whether there are diversity and inclusion offices at your institution. Encourage students to seek additional support if needed.

5. Importance of the Topic

• Frame the content positively: Although justice-centered science uncovers uncomfortable truths, remind students that learning about them is empowering. Knowledge is power, and it provides students with the necessary knowledge and tools to be agents of change in their fields.
• Highlight progress and solutions: When possible, focus on solutions or progress being made in justice-centered science. For example, after discussing environmental damage in vulnerable communities, highlight current efforts to promote sustainable development or equitable policies.
• Encourage critical thinking and action: Ask students how they can contribute to advancing justice through their own scientific work. This can help them direct their emotions into a sense of purpose and motivation.

6. Inclusivity and Respect

• Model respectful communication: Set an example, as an instructor, by listening actively and responding with sensitivity to student viewpoints. Encourage your students to engage respectfully with each other.
• Create guidelines: Establish the ground rules for discussing difficult topics at the beginning of the course. Encourage listening without judgment, as well as the importance of considering multiple perspectives.
• Moderate debates thoughtfully: If students begin to debate controversial aspects of justice-centered science, guide the conversation to ensure it remains productive and respectful. Be prepared to de-escalate if tensions rise.

7. Foster Community

• Build a supportive environment: Encourage peer support in the classroom by creating opportunities for small group discussions, as students may feel more comfortable processing difficult material in these types of smaller and more intimate settings.
• Normalize emotional responses: Let students know that feeling emotional in response to justice-centered science is valid and part of the learning process. Encourage them to share how they cope with these feelings and support each other.

8. Follow-up

• Check in with the class: After particularly challenging lectures, readings, or discussions, check in with students during the next class. Ask how they are feeling and whether they have any lingering thoughts or questions. Have a group discussion.
• Reaffirm the significance of the material: Emphasize that dealing with tough topics is part of becoming informed and active in addressing societal challenges through science.

Additional Tips

• Have empathy: Remember that personal experiences may be directly related to the content, and some students may feel more affected by this than others.
• Encourage outside dialogue: Provide students with opportunities for further discussion in less formal settings, such as your office hours or online discussion boards using your course platform (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard).
• Be patient: Students may need time to process emotionally charged material. Be flexible with deadlines or participation expectations if necessary.