Course:LIBR559A/Noble, S. U., et al (2014)

Citation

Noble, S. U., Austin, J., Sweeney, M. E., McKeever, L., & Sullivan, E. (2014). Changing course: collaborative reflections of teaching/taking "Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Information Professions". Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 55(3), 212-222.

Objective

This article attempts “to reflect on the institutional and disciplinary context of a course on ‘Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Information Professions’ from the perspective of instructors and students. It examines the effectiveness of a course like this as an intervention to the normative landscape of the Library and Information Science (LIS) field that often privileges White, male, middle-class, heterosexual, U.S.-based values and interests (p. 212).”

Summary

Three graduate students revived the course in the Fall of 2011 after townhall discussions of the lack of representation of race, gender and sexuality in an Library and Information Science (LIS) graduate program. In particular they incorporated materials and discussions around how power, privilege and heteronormativity are embedded in LIS curriculum and information professions.

Theoretical Framework

The authors imply the use of the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) in the design, delivery and reflections about experiences in the course of instructors and students.

Discussion/Conclusion

It was discovered that a course of this nature is a helpful in getting the discussion started about reshaping the curriculum to encompass material about Race, Gender and Sexuality and the affect of power, privilege and heteronormativity in LIS programs and professions. The instructors and students were confronted with difficult topics that prompted them to reflect on their intersectionalities of race, gender, sexuality and heteronormativity. However, it was discovered that having a single elective course about the topic was in fact supporting ‘Othering’ of the Other because the topics discussed were “extras” to the main predominant curriculum and practices. Implications were discussed for the renaming the course and the expansion of the topics discussed in the curriculum to the general LIS program curriculum.

Pitfalls, Blind Spots, and Weaknesses of This Article

This article did a fairly good job at recognizing the power dynamics inherent in an instructor-student relationship. The instructors (graduate students) addressed this power dynamic by making sure that they reflected on their experiences of being students too. They also allowed students the flexibility to lead and contribute to discussions.

Potential Contribution to The Scholarship of Social Studies of Library and Information and to The Practice of Librarianship

This article has implications for the scholarship of social studies of library and information and the practice of librarianship. It shows how important it is to question the dominant heteronormative curriculum and institutional structures in LIS. It also stresses the importance of discussing and implementing the reshaping of curriculum to incorporate narratives of minorities (including race, gender, sexuality, and class) into the predominant LIS curriculum and professions. This is applicable at an instructional level and an institutional administrative level.

Page author: Karan Bola