Our knowledge systems exclude many perspectives because legacies of injustice are built into their foundations. Racism, colonialism, and other forms of discrimination limit whose voices are heard, whose interests are prioritized, and whose knowledge counts. Openness can create pathways to more equitable systems of knowledge sharing; however, in pursuing this potential, it is important to explicitly recognize the ways these inequities are built into the foundations of academic systems.
To help situate the work of opening up research and education within this essential context, SPARC will host a discussion series to provide an introduction to broad concepts and considerations of epistemic injustice and knowledge equity in the areas of academic libraries and archives. These discussions will examine how universities, and thus academic libraries, are rooted in oppressive systems like white supremacy, racism, and settler colonialism, and how that is connected to our current work in libraries.
This public series will consist of four 60-minute discussions from the end of July through early September.
Examining the Roots of Universities in Slavery and Anti-Black Racism
July 27 at 2pm ET / 11am PT | View recording
- Dorothy Berry, Digital Curator, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Dr. Kirt von Daacke, Assistant Dean and Professor, Department of History, University of Virginia
- Dr. Shaundra Walker, Director of the Ina Dillard Russell Library, Georgia College & State University
- Moderator: Kanishka Sikri, PhD Candidate, York University and Research Associate, Knowledge Equity Lab
Examining How Systems of Research and Education Still Reflect the Structures of Colonialism
August 10 at 1pm ET / 10am PT | View recording
- Nicola Andrews, Open Education Librarian, University of San Francisco
- Dr. Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou, Assistant Professor, Advanced School of Mass Communication, University of Yaoundé II
- Dr. Beth Patin, Assistant Professor, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University
- Moderator: Kanishka Sikri, PhD Candidate, York University and Research Associate, Knowledge Equity Lab
Examining the Roots of Universities in Violence Against Indigenous Communities
August 25 at 2pm ET / 11am PT | View recording
- Dr. Stacy Allison-Cassin, Assistant Professor, Dalhousie University
- Dr. Carolyn Podruchny, Professor of History, York University
- Dr. Robyn K. Rowe, Post-Doctoral Fellow, AI, Data Justice, and Medicine, Queens University.
- Moderator: Kanishka Sikri, PhD Candidate, York University and Research Associate, Knowledge Equity Lab
Discussing How We Actively Address the Ways Our Institutions are Deeply Rooted in Past and Current Injustices
September 8 at 3pm ET / 12pm PT | View recording
- Jen Brown, Undergraduate Research and Learning Librarian, University of California Berkeley and Community Manager, We Here
- Fobazi Ettarh, Scholar-Activist, Independent Consultant and PhD student, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign iSchool
- Sofia Leung, Editor, up//root: a We Here publication
- Moderator: Kanishka Sikri, PhD Candidate, York University and Research Associate, Knowledge Equity Lab
To assist participants in building their understanding of topics explored in these webcasts, we are collaborating with Sofia Leung to provide resources for hosting local accountability & unlearning study groups as a part of the series. You can find a guide for hosting a study group here and a resource with suggested additional readings and discussion prompts related to each session here.
Anyone is welcome to register for these discussions. A recording of each discussion will be made available the following day for those who are not able to join live. We also encourage the community to use the recordings and study group resources to participate on whatever schedule is most convenient—even if that is after the series itself has ended.
