Queering the CH 1010 General Chemistry Syllabus

Ruben Sousa (a) and Matthew Voigt (a)

(a) Department of Engineering and Science Education

In this work, we present a theoretically-driven revamped syllabus for CH1010 General Chemistry at Clemson University. Different components were added and changed, such as inclusive wording, community expectations and instructor introductions, and the rationale and description for the changes is also included.
Resources such as textbooks and syllabi are generally not written in inclusive language, in big part due to unconscious systemic bias in language and disciplinary norms. These resources are usually the first interaction a student has to a particular field, and it makes a difference whether they’re approached with gender-inclusive vs gender-exclusive language. Including something as simple as pronouns in your introduction can be the difference between having a student showing up for their first class excited rather than scared, which can be the key factor for retention of underrepresented and sexually-marginalized students in STEM.
Teaching a first-year General Chemistry class in a research-intensive school means that instructors are likely to share the same coordinated syllabus, and there might not be a lot of leverage for changes. By aligning Queer Theory and syllabi design, we allow General Chemistry to challenge systemic issues of inequity and connect each student to the class, regardless of their social identities, while simultaneously improving the classroom environment for every student.
Future work will involve getting resources like the Office for Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation, the Department of Undergraduate Studies and the Division of Inclusion and Equity included in the conversation when developing syllabi and setting the tone for inclusivity in first-year classes at Clemson.