ERIC Number: EJ1222832
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0748-5786
EISSN: N/A
The Non-White Man's Burden in LIS Education: Critical Constructive Nudges
Mehra, Bharat
Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, v60 n3 p198-207 2019
Traditionally, American library and information science (LIS) education and librarianship have been predominantly white and female-oriented professions. As an international gay male person of color (originally from India) in its ranks, I have embraced social justice scholarship outside and within our bastion institutions of higher learning during a 14.5-year tenure as an LIS educator in the United States. This article reflects on select experiences as a minority along multiple intersectional dimensions of human experience and socially constructed identity markers, including race/ethnicity, national origins, sex, gender, and sexual orientation. Indulging in these musings allows me to decipher layers of complexities shaping faculty interpersonal microaggressions, a perceived lack of equal/equitable recognition of contributions, and limited comparable administrative growth/opportunities. These are discussed as hypothesized encounters in the form of few imagined scenarios or key episodes connected in the form of a searching narrative. It develops an alternative "voice" to identify possible directions that might transform LIS education beyond its "feel good" practices/policies surrounding diversity, inclusion, and collegiality and give it greater relevance in the twenty-first century. The goal is to engage authentic conversations that address behaviors of perceived prejudice, bias, abuse, and discrimination (intentional or unintentional) by LIS faculty/administrators targeting male faculty of color and "marginalized" others (e.g., first-generation graduates) in academic and professional networks.
Descriptors: Library Science, College Faculty, Males, Minority Group Teachers, Diversity (Faculty), Race, Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation, Gender Differences, Racial Bias, Gender Bias, Social Justice, LGBTQ People, Social Bias, Information Science Education, Whites, Foreign Countries
Association for Library and Information Science Education. 4 Lan Drive Suite 310, Westford, MA 01886. Tel: 978-674-6190; Fax: 978-250-1117; e-mail: office@alise.org; Web site: https://www.alise.org/jelis-2
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: India
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A