#critlib: critical information literacy and the ‘left’
Tweets from the #critlib twitter chat on October 21, 2014. Read more about #critlib here: http://tinyurl.com/critlibx.
- This Storify is from October 21st, 2014's #critlib chat on critical information literacy and left politics, moderated by @JessicaCritten. She writes:
- "For the purposes of this discussion, we are understanding “politics” to refer to a system of governance, and political ideologies (Democrats! Republicans! Bull Moose!) Here's also an optional reading to help contextualize this conversation a little:
You'll find the #critlib cheatsheet with tonight's questions here: http://tinyurl.com/critlibx
Hi #critlib, Gina at Cal State San Bernardino. Got the #thesmiths playing in the background.
@HollyCroft Don't worry. I'm mostly lurking too. This seems like an interesting topic. #critlib- Q1: Where do you locate the work of #critlib on the political spectrum?
@nicholsonkp Sure -- I guess, I'm hesitant to say "left" or "liberal" because those labels can lead to unearned backpatting. #critlib- @nicholsonkp Like, "but I'm a liberal!" kinds of things. But I do feel confident that #critlib is far from the conservative right.
- @kevinseeber What's the common view, would you say? #critlib
@foureyedsoul I agree that progressive seems correct-- flavors vary #critlib
.@PeaBriddy There are existing political paradigms that think that way -- some (A)s don't consider themselves left. #critlib- .@PeaBriddy ....but thats probaly not what you were thinking of. #critlib
@rowmyboat That was in part what I was thinking. (A)s are likely in that scenario #critlib
- @lisaflepore Is that a criticism of any political ideology? #critlib
- .@aasher @edrabinski Only if we think every other axis of oppression is reducible to economic. #critlib
@edrabinski Class / socioeconomic analysis is something librarians are incredibly uncomfortable with. @rowmyboat @aasher #critlib- @edrabinski Examining privilege & entrenched bias in some areas is acceptable, in others shied away from. @rowmyboat @aasher #critlib
- @JessicaCritten @edrabinski @rowmyboat @aasher Both, I think. Socioeconomic privilege is very uncomfortable ground. #critlib
@JessicaCritten @Bibliocracy @rowmyboat @aasher I think it's legit hard to understand how power operates. #critlib- @JessicaCritten @Bibliocracy @edrabinski @rowmyboat Challenging the fundamental assumptions of capitalism is still often frowned on #critlib
- @JessicaCritten @edrabinski @rowmyboat @aasher It's certainly easier & safer to approach, say, precarity from some other framework. #critlib
- .@edrabinski @JessicaCritten @Bibliocracy @aasher And those without it really don't like to think about how they don't have it. #critlib
- @JessicaCritten @edrabinski @rowmyboat @aasher It's something I value. There's a certain element of "world we have" to discourse. #critlib
- @JessicaCritten @edrabinski @rowmyboat @aasher You often see "progressive" LIS mvmts largely unconcerned w/ industry, vendors &c #critlib
- @Bibliocracy @JessicaCritten @edrabinski @rowmyboat The notion of meritocracy is also woven into the univ as we know have it #critlib
- @Bibliocracy @JessicaCritten @edrabinski @rowmyboat Agreed, this is smth much more attention should be given to #critlib
- .@aasher @Bibliocracy @JessicaCritten @edrabinski And that's not strictly a $$ thing. It's race, gender, health/(dis)ability, etc. #critlib
- @aasher @JessicaCritten @edrabinski @rowmyboat Yes; my concern is that we may be losing structural battles against oppression [+] #critlib
- @aasher @JessicaCritten @edrabinski @rowmyboat Even as we approach "structure" from below by confronting aspects of it [+] #critlib
- @aasher @JessicaCritten @edrabinski @rowmyboat But it's v. easy to ignore behemoths in which we're all to some degree complicit [-] #critlib
- .@Bibliocracy @aasher @JessicaCritten @edrabinski Right? As w any aspect of capitalism, v hard to operate outside of it. #critlib
- @rowmyboat @Bibliocracy @aasher @JessicaCritten Impossible to operate outside it, I think. We are all in here! #critlib
- @rowmyboat @aasher @JessicaCritten @edrabinski Also there's a natural desire for success in advocacy efforts. More fulfilling.. [+] #critlib
- @rowmyboat @aasher @JessicaCritten @edrabinski ..to tackle things where you can have impact than confront cap. - "breaks the world" #critlib
@edrabinski @JessicaCritten @Bibliocracy @rowmyboat @aasher Thinking power's v. hard! Have to “distort” grammar for some genders. #critlib
@rowmyboat @Bibliocracy @aasher @JessicaCritten @edrabinski also, maybe we have more power to make change in classrooms? #critlib- @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @Bibliocracy @aasher @edrabinski guess i'm thinking i can manage my classes; harder to fix vendor issues #critlib
- @JessicaCritten @delaubrarian @rowmyboat @Bibliocracy @edrabinski yes, one shots are terrible IMO #critlib
- @delaubrarian @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @aasher @edrabinski Even just teaching people to look askance at vendors & not assume… [+] #critlib
- @delaubrarian @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @aasher @edrabinski …they approach w/your / users' best interests at heart wd be a start #critlib
- @delaubrarian @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @aasher @edrabinski I mean this is #critlib but I see a huge amount of taking for granted w/vendors
- @delaubrarian @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @aasher @edrabinski Especially where that is unearned, unfounded. Library folk = trusting. #critlib
- @delaubrarian @JessicaCritten I don't teach a lot, but I see critical analysis of the libr as inst a key part of assessment work #critlib
- @Bibliocracy @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @aasher @edrabinski definitely! still get wide eyes hearing google saves their searhces #critlib
- @flexlibris @delaubrarian @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @aasher @edrabinski Totally, & this is often tinged w/ hint of desperation #critlib
- @flexlibris @Bibliocracy @delaubrarian @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @edrabinski need to step up and say no,preferably collectively #critlib
- @flexlibris @Bibliocracy @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @aasher @edrabinski libs priv myth of access over mission #critlib
- @flexlibris @Bibliocracy @delaubrarian @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @aasher Vendors are in the ecosystem, teaching their role seems #critlib
- @aasher @flexlibris @Bibliocracy @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @edrabinski interesting perspectives on anti-trust involved there #critlib
- @flexlibris @delaubrarian @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @aasher @edrabinski "Don't tear down vendors, is what it is! Think of users!" #critlib
- @Bibliocracy @delaubrarian @rowmyboat @aasher @edrabinski sounds like a future #critlib topic to me!
- @Bibliocracy @flexlibris @delaubrarian @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @aasher Political Econ of info production &dissemination. #critlib
- @Bibliocracy @flexlibris @delaubrarian @JessicaCritten @rowmyboat @aasher That should be at the heart of what we teach. #critlib
- Q2: Do you acknowledge the political leanings of #critlib in the classroom? Why/why not?
@nicholsonkp @JessicaCritten @kellymce Aim is to create informed citizens. Rather they change minds honestly, then force politics #critlib
@FromtheShelves @JessicaCritten @kellymce agreed. was part of the point of tonight's reading (the bit that I read!) #critlib- @nicholsonkp Hmm. I never considered that as a possibility. Does one publish such things? #critlib
- @nicholsonkp Thanks for the encouragement - I shall do so! Any takers out there? #critlib
- .@JessicaCritten It really depends on the kind of classroom. I do a lot of informal teaching & then lay it right out. #critlib
@JessicaCritten Def as part of eval, which I frame as a set of ?s we ask the text. I'll then ask, "are we privileging certain ?s" #critlib
@JessicaCritten When I talk databases, I always talk about how wrong it is that knowledge is privatized. #critlib- @JessicaCritten I also ask them who isn't here? Whose voices aren't showing up in EBSCO? Why not? How do you find those voices? #critlib
- Q3 How do you strike a balance b/t serving the social justice goals of
#critlib and respecting the political ideologies of your students? - @kevinseeber I sometimes have issues doing this well; the students who speak up are often the ones wielding privilege unawares #critlib
- @kevinseeber while many in the room may be marginalized/afraid to share. I'm trying to learn how to facilitate that better #critlib
- @meganjwatson Yeah. Needs work to create atmosphere where all feel welcome. Often worth (politely) singling out quiet students. #critlib
- @kevinseeber which I find somewhat terrifying as a former quiet student myself :) #critlib
- @meganjwatson Heard. It's a fine line between engaging and mocking. #critlib
- @meganjwatson @kevinseeber Having smaller groups, or written assignments can help -- in front of The Whole Class can be hard! #critlib
- @JessicaCritten @meganjwatson I've found it helpful to expose my own vulnerabilities. Try to remove facade of my authority. #critlib
- @kevinseeber @meganjwatson I think that's at the heart of the lot of the work of critical pedagogy, and #critlib I do the same thing
- @JessicaCritten @meganjwatson @kevinseeber great critique of critical pedagogy on these grounds by feminists Luke and Gore 1994 #critlib
- @Bibliocracy Yes, 'progressives' are often still capitlalists, only they're for a 'capitalism with a human face.' #critlib
- @foureyedsoul I read Freire as starting from a Marxist approach, so for me it seems a core issue #critlib
- Q4: Are you upfront about your personal political beliefs in your classroom? Why/why not? #critlib
- @ginaschless Yes! inquiry bases as opposed to claiming to have the correct political perspective #critlib
- @kevinseeber Speaking from personal experience, yes. #critlib
- @FromtheShelves Yeah, me too. I have a blast teaching night classes w/ people coming back to school. Very open w/ each other. #critlib
- @foureyedsoul Or some heady combination! Interesting, though. How do students react? #critlib
- Q5: What place, if any, does politics have in information literacy curriculum? #critlib
@kevinseeber alas, a stance not at all fostered in most of my classes #critlib A5- @nicholsonkp Or, put another way, today information is all about oppression and injustice #critlib
- about to totally geek out on #copyright implications of #critlib - like peanut butter and chocolate!
- @JessicaCritten at least in a narrow sense, rel. to information. in a broader sense, as (critical) educators #critlib
- @JessicaCritten Sometimes, we have an easier time because we generally *aren't* giving students a grade. #critlib
- @JessicaCritten Who is the they? Students? I find that not being the evaluator often helps me build rapport with students. #critlib
- @edrabinski Yeah! I guess I'm struggling with the personal-as-political -- how could I be an authentic teacher while hiding this? #critlib
- @papertronica @kellymce @edrabinski Affect def. has place in class, demonstrates These Things Matter & worth thinking abt deeply #critlib
- @papertronica @kellymce @edrabinski But it’s also super hard to do in a way that promotes participation for all. #critlib
- @nicholsonkp ooooh, any good citations to share? #critlib
- @JessicaCritten We can ask challenging/thoughtful ?s & plant the seed. I try to remember when working w/18 yo it can take time #critlib
- @meganjwatson @JessicaCritten My demeanor as a librarian is very “guide on the side”, sort of Freirean. #critlib
- @meganjwatson @JessicaCritten Feels like students will take me as seriously I'm willing to take them, i.e. being myself. #critlib
- #critlib pitches!
- My #critlib pitch is for all y'all MLIS students and profs -- the Braverman Award call is up: http://www.progressivelibrariansguild.org/content/award.shtml …
- As always, if you're interested in tossing out a topic for (+/or moderating) a future #critlib, fill out this form: http://tinyurl.com/critlibmod
- Wait! #critlib pitch! Write a book! http://litwinbooks.com/series-gender.php …
- Thanks to @JessicaCritten for moderating another thought-provoking #critlib!
- Thx @JessicaCritten for a great #critlib chat! Hope to see you in Portland for ACRL?
- Apropos of our topic tonight, we will skip Nov 4th (elections). Next #critlib hosted by @kevinseeber, November 18!
- @JessicaCritten Fabulous moderating! Thanks! #critlib
- @JessicaCritten Thanks for facilitating Jessica! Great conversation #critlib
- Thanks @JessicaCritten & everyone for fantastic #critlib tonight. Was _exhausted_ from long day before, now I’m energized again!
