#Critical Conversations
in LIS 2022

At the University of South Carolina, the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair, Dr. Nicole Cooke, has the honor of teaching a course entitled Critical Cultural Information Studies!

As part of this course (description below), there are amazing guest lectures that are being opened up to the larger LIS community (free and online)! Please join us for these tough, enlightening, action focused conversations!

Sessions will be held via Zoom on Thursday afternoons, at 4pm EDT, and they will be recorded and posted on this site at a later date.

Course Description

This course examines how issues of diversity, social justice, race, gender and sexuality are represented in the information professions and will study how these social imperatives affect, and are affected by, information technologies. Socially constructed (mis)representations (or lack of representations) of race, gender and sexual identity will be critically examined in different settings as they intersect, overlap, and impact the information use, technology practices, and the design of information resources and services in the processes of creation, organization, and dissemination of information in library and information science and related fields. This course will also provide a historical and contemporary overview of social justice and advocacy work in librarianship during the 20th and 21st centuries. The role of information services in social action will also be explored and the course will introduce prominent philosophical and pedagogical concepts related to social justice, as well as researchers and proponents of marginalized or “underserved” groups.

"Nothing About Us Without Us: Inclusive Services for Youth with Disabilities at Brooklyn Public Library" with Carrie Banks 

Creating services for people with disabilities and the neurodiverse and Deaf communities starts with finding out what they want and need. Learn more about how Inclusive Services at Brooklyn Public Library relies on youth with disabilities to design, shape, advertise and implement our services.

"Finding Solidarity In Storytime" 

with Kate Reynolds

Through StoryTime Solidarity we support children's library and education workers in teaching empathy and self-worth to kids in age-appropriate ways. This is important because so many parents and teachers default to books that center one kind of narrative and leave many feeling left out. We offer you resources that allow you to fall in love with a new generation of books by primarily living and working authors; we promote new songs that are free to use for StoryTime, and checked to avoid problematic historical associations; and offer weekly blogs sharing diverse perspectives with authors, StoryTime presenters, and more.

"Cultivating the Reading Identity of Black Boys" 

with Alvin Irby

Reading assessments and instruction that narrowly focus on what Black boys don’t know or can’t do miss valuable opportunities to center their interests, knowledge, and lived experiences. In this lecture, Barbershop Books Founder, Alvin Irby, shares strategies for curating early literacy content and experiences that inspire Black boys to identify as readers and to read for fun.

"What's so critical about intellectual freedom?" with Dr. Emily Knox & Dr. Shannon Oltmann

Why does intellectual freedom matter in times of conflict? Dr. Oltmann and Dr. Knox will discuss the principles of intellectual freedom and information access and why they matter in our turbulent times.

What's it all worth? Why I continue to engage in dei work & why you should too. with Dr. Kawanna Bright

In this lecture, Dr. Bright will discuss her diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work within library and information science (LIS), ranging from development of a DEI audit for academic libraries, to the creation of the Privilege Layer Cake professional development activity. Dr. Bright will also speak specifically about DEI research and DEI in research, particularly as it related to LIS and efforts to dismantle systemic inequalities.

"Diversity Work" is Labor with Angel Truesdale

LIS workers have to deal with a myriad of issues on the front lines, while also navigating a profession that doesn’t inherently value equity and inclusion. This discussion is rooted in the belief that we all must take up the mantle to fight white supremacy in all forms and combat systems that hurt us all. In this #CriticalConversationsinLIS lecture, Angel Truesdale will present how to sustain yourself through the demanding but sometimes fulfilling labor that is “diversity work” in LIS. She will talk about her own experiences and offer advice on how to approach this work with cultural humility, emotional intelligence, and a desire to support and uplift.