working from within the system to create change

39th chat, August 11 2015: working from within the system to create change

Readings:

What’s Next: The Radical, Unrealized Potential of Digital Humanities by Miriam Posner: http://miriamposner.com/blog/whats-next-the-radical-unrealized-potential-of-digital-humanities While this talk addresses DH specifically, it frames well the struggle between some of the inherent biases of the systems that we work with and within, and the potential and urgency of learning how to subvert and transform those systems into something that is more equitable across the board.
Now Hiring Smiling Faces (And Who Cares About Your Insides) by Maria Accardi – Academic Librarian Instruction Burnout: https://libraryinstructionburnout.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/now-hiring-smiling-faces-and-who-cares-about-your-insides/ And on the flipside, this blog post (and the entire excellent blog!) addresses well the difficulty of trying to do good work in places that don’t always support you.

Discussion questions:

Q1: By working in places such as academia, govt or public libraries, do we implicitly endorse their oppressive systems and histories?
Q2: How do you separate yourself from policies and structures that you disagree with? How do you indicate that to others?
Q3: How do you balance desire for personal enrichment (and a paying job) with the harmful structures of the institutions we engage with?
Q4: In what ways can we stop the cycle of wanting to create change and then falling away as the pressures of the system get us down?
Pitch: Know of any resources, lists, blogs, zines, communities that deal with these questions? Want to start one?

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