Decolonising Distributed Computing

 

Raspberry Pi Cluster

Background

Despite being a relatively modern subject, Computer Science is a lot closer to the time of decolonisation than we first believe. The fall of many colonies around the world coincided with the rise of computer science in the mid 1900s. 

Independence seems like a binary state but unlike computing the real world lives on a spectrum. Natural languages take time to evolve rather updating the compiler to a new point release. Keywords are major offenders, who linger in our dialects through propagation by educators and repetition in industry.

This post looks at the use of some of these problematic terms in the computing curriculum, in particular the use of “Master” and “Slave” in distributed computing. To reduce the use of these terms we need to cut the chain of transmission by propagating different terms in their place.

Class Activity - Starter on Decolonising Distributed Computing

This activity aims to use the students literacy skills to categorise words that have been suggested to decolonise problematic terms.

To start the topic off, show the students the terms in the list below and ask them to sort them into 2 clusters, possibly adding a broad definition for each cluster as well.
  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Leader
  • Standby
  • Conductor
  • Follower
  • Source
  • Sink
  • Source
  • Replica
  • Master
  • Puppet
  • Boss
  • Minion
After this you can discuss that all of these terms are proposed replacements for the “Master” and “Slave” terms that have previously been used. These are used in companies such as Google, Twitter, Microsoft and even within the python programming language.

Explain to the students that we all take responsibility in decolonising the world. With that in mind allow the students to choose which terms they like and vote on what the class should use moving forward.

This approach allows for a student led activity, giving them power to change the world for the better.
Once the class has decided on their favourite terms, proceed to use them for the topic. This enforces that their efforts have shaped the world around them!


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