About HEAL

The Humanities Education for Anti-racism Literacy (HEAL) in the Sciences and Medicine project is based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Just Futures Initiative. We seek to provide models and examples of transformative of higher education by drawing on humanities research to advance anti-racist practices and pedagogies in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). Beginning with an acknowledgement of pervasive systemic racism, our aim is to center the educational experiences of Black, Native, Indigenous and other students of color to build more accurate narratives about histories of racism in the sciences and medicine, allowing us to better understand persistent underrepresentation and to develop educational tools for building a more equitable university and society.

We envision:

A university community that strives to reach its full potential by reckoning with impacts of settler colonialism and white supremacy and actively seeking to repair legacies of its colonial and extractive histories and harms done particularly to Black, Native, Indigenous as well as other people of color.
A university that fosters a strong sense of belonging forall by listening to and learning from Black, Native, Indigenous and other people of color on campus and in the surrounding communities and by actively engaging in dialogue and actions towards social justice and equity.
A Wisconsin built on reciprocal relationships in which the university listens, learns and partners with surrounding communities and then acts in service, such that both campus and community members are positively transformed through collaboration and co-production of knowledge among equals.
Creation and collection of course-based pedagogies and pedagogical materials across all disciplines at the university and beyond, grounded in anti-racist principles of mutual learning, dignity, honesty, and care.
Education systems and practices that include critical historical analysis of power structures, racism, white supremacy, and settler colonialism in their core curricula.

Our goals are to:

As a team, continually re-educate and challenge ourselves about ongoing histories of racism and oppression in our society, in academia, and in our institutions and disciplines, in order to recognize their legacies today and to actively engage in anti-racist practices.
As a team, commit to practices of anti-racism, co-production of knowledge, and centering the experiences of Black, Native, Indigenous and other people of color to create with our partners new models of relationship-building and collaborations for equitable learning and working environments.
Listen to, learn from, partner with, and serve Black, Native, Indigenous and other people of color on campus and in the surrounding communities in order to develop and deliver educational materials that are inclusive, equitable, accessible, and that reflect the experiences of Black, Native, Indigenous and other communities of color.
Co-create new models of research collaborations by building partnerships based on anti-racist practices and reparative relationships with Black, Native, Indigenous and other communities of color.
Collaboratively research, create, teach, and disseminate educational materials that convey how racism, settler colonialism, and white supremacy shaped the (1) historical development of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM), other disciplines, our academic institutions, and scientific practice, and (2) continue to influence power relationships, as well as who pursues learning and working in these fields, questions researchers ask, and methods used to answer them.
To engage the wider UW-Madison community in meaningful educational opportunities, productive conversations, and actions that recognize and work to counteract the legacies of racism, settler colonialism, and white supremacy in the academy and STEMM, in particular, including through partnerships with other efforts to transform the racial climate of higher education.

Who We Are

Our research takes place on the unceded lands of First Nations, including land the Ho-Chunk have long called Teejop. We are committed to working with Native and Indigenous partners as well as community organizations reaching minoritized populations. Community partners currently include Pioneer Possibilities and Nehemiah-Justified Anger. We are also working with UBUNTU Research and evaluators from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research to help us evaluate the project.

For more information, contact: Elizabeth Hennessy at elizabeth.hennessy@wisc.edu