Disrupting the Disciplines

Disrupting the Disciplines focuses on the bottlenecks of racism, implicit bias, colonialism, and identity, raising awareness first in the expert that "concepts we have taken for granted as neutral and unbiased are in fact deeply enmeshed in structures of oppression" and to begin to articulate and unpack these concepts which are often part of the hidden curriculum of a discipline. Once the expert begins to explore their discipline in this light, they can begin to consider implications for pedagogy. Disrupting asks experts to consider where the bottlenecks exist in the discipline itself, and what may need to be rethought. For instance, Decoding bottlenecks are often cognitive, such as in history, developing an historical argument. A Disrupting bottleneck in history might question maintaining appropriate emotional distance: Why do we expect historians to police their own emotions and take the perspectives of even repugnant actors? Does this uphold colonialism? It can also work on the level of curriculum. Courses are often organized around conceptions of history from a Western perspective, for example a first-year Canadian history course might be organized around the formation of the nation: "Pre-confederation" and "Post-confederation." What would it look like to reorganize the course from an Indigenous perspective, using texts by Indigenous scholars? Using oral history?

Background

This adaptation of Decoding began in Canada in 2016 in the wake of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final report and Calls to Action, which included imperatives for change to post-secondary education. While efforts towards decolonization in higher education in the Canadian context continue, the work is complex and challenging, as universities themselves are built upon Western frameworks of thinking. This extends to academic disciplines. A group at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada began conceptualizing Disrupting as an alternative facet of Decoding. They noticed that Decoding begins with an assumptions that the disciplines are "right" in their thinking (see Easton et al., 2019). This group has since expanded beyond Mount Royal University and beyond Canada, and is now known colloquially as the Disrupting Collective. Aspects beyond decolonization, such as anti-racism, may be more relevant in other contexts. Thus, Disrupting is informed by critical, postcolonial, and Indigenous perspectives.

Comparison of Decoding and Disrupting

The following table juxtaposes guiding questions of Decoding and Disrupting. For a more detailed discussion of the comparison, see Easton & Middendorf (2025).

Decoding/Disrupting Steps	Decoding questions	Disrupting questions
Step 1 Bottlenecks	Where is a bottleneck where students struggle to learn in my course or field?	Where is my field upholding colonialism/racism? What is one component of my discipline where I can identify colonial or racist structures or processes at work? And that I feel prepared to delve into?
Step 2 Decoding/Disrupting	What does the specialist do to get through the bottleneck? What is the “mental move?”	What can I imagine doing differently? What kind of thinking or doing (or being) are we aiming for as an alternative? What work might I need to do on myself to learn or unlearn what I take for granted?
Step 3 Modeling/Teaching Presentation	What narratives, analogies, or metaphors will I use to model and meta-explain the mental move?	What changes do I need to make to my pedagogy or how my course is organized? What narratives, analogies, or metaphors will model or center indigenous or anti-racist views? Alternatively, does the curriculum need to be rethought or reorganized? Whose perspectives are represented?
Step 4 Student Practice	How will the students practice the mental move? How will I scaffold it for them?	What do I have the students practice?
Step 5 Motivation/Resistance	Where do the students resist? Are there emotional and identity bottlenecks that interfere with learning the mental move? What will motivate persistence to use the new mental move?	Where do students resist? What anti-racist/indigenous pedagogies will I use? Where do I encounter my own resistance in making changes?
Step 6 Assessment	How can I check that students have grasped the new mental move?	How do I assess anti-racist and anti-colonialist thinking?
Step 7 Sharing	Where can I disseminate the analysis and reflection on the bottleneck lesson?	Where do I share what we learned from analysis and reflection on the disrupting process?

See also

• Podcast Decolonizing the Curriculum through Disruption: From Decoding Tacit Knowledge to Disrupting Disciplines
• R. Attas & M. Yeo (Eds). (2025). Disrupting the Disciplines, New Directions in Teaching and Learning (special issue).