Dr. Thurka Sangaramoorthy was quoted in Forbes in a new piece by Madhu Pai, Canada Research Chair of Epidemiology & Global Health at McGill University, titled “We Can Use The Pandemic To Reimagine Global Health Teaching.” The article features teaching approaches to ANTH323 Plagues, Pathogens, and Public Policy. 

"Thurka Sangaramoorthy, a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, taught an anthropology course called Plagues, Pathogens, and Public Policy and wrote about how her teaching team sought to decolonize their course content and pedagogy as a means of contributing to ongoing efforts towards inclusivity in academia. She argues that global health courses must “prioritize voices from the Global South, Indigenous scholars, and individuals working and living within their impacted communities.”

“Decolonized pedagogy is distinct from other forms of critical pedagogy in its commitment to centering perspectives and voices from marginalized populations, as well as a dedication to addressing and dismantling the harmful legacies of colonial and imperial powers,” Sangaramoorthy explained. “I've learned that these pedagogies align to a great extent with best practices for online teaching. This training has freed me from a punitive model, a deficit model where the pervasive thinking is that grades are ultimate marker of hard work and reflective of learning course content. By engaging in these decolonial and anti-oppressive pedagogies, I have noticed a drastic change in how I approach teaching, classroom, and my students. I’m less stressed, anxious, and teaching has become much more enjoyable,” she added."

Read the full article, here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/madhukarpai/2021/02/15/we-can-use-the-pand…