Date               Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Time                12:00 pm – 1:30 pm USMST

Where            SIRLS Multipurpose Room

Event Type    Academic Event

Presenter     Richard Chabran, SIRLS Adjunct Lecturer

Event Title   Subaltern Knowledges: Coloniality, Border Thinking, Writing, and Literacies

Abstract       The success of the Knowledge River program provided affirmation of not only the need to provide library services to Latinos and Native Americans but of the existence of bodies of knowledge that often remain hidden. Over the past year we have had many occasions to celebrate program’s success but not many chances to discuss the theoretical challenges inherent in projects like Knowledge River.
The focus on subaltern communities by writers such as Walter Mignolo has not only provided information on the historical existence of these communities but allowed theorist to ask new theoretical questions. The questions raised by Mignolo and others are for the most part absent in the library and information literature. While Mignolo’s impact has been generally in the humanities his insights are relevant for both theoreticians and practitioners in the field of library and information studies. The talk will provide an introduction to Mignolo’s articulation of coloniality, subaltern knowledges, and border thinking and raise some of the key questions and challenges arising from his discussions of technologies of writing and literacies. Examples of ways these are being played out in the beginning of the 21st century will be provided.

Notes             Richard Chabrán is an Adjunct Lecturer at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Arizona . He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of California , Berkeley , Los Angeles , the University of La Verne , and Pitzer College Mr. Chabrán has lectured nationally and internationally on community technology and librarianship. Students, faculty, staff and the public are cordially invited to attend this free Brown Bag Series lecture.

Posted on April 21st, 2009 by Adriana
Filed under: KnowledgeRiver, events, Continued Education, professional development, SIRLS, Arizona