Decolonising Archives and Systematic Research: Openings and Challenges in Library Services
Michelangelo Paganopoulos
(Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam)
Contribution description:
This open discussion paper highlights the areas of focus and challenges in decolonising research, both in relation to the past (Archives & Collections) and the present (conducting systematic reviews) at the Library Services of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Paper long abstract:
This paper calls for an open discussion between anthropologists, librarians, and researchers over the shift in Library Services across the University of London towards projects associated with the "decolonizing the curriculum" national project in the UK. Traditional British organizations, such as the London School of Hygiene an Tropical Medicine, the British Museum & British Library, as well as the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK & Commonwealth, have been at the centre of this discussion as their historical past is directly associated with colonalism. This reflects upon the way Archives have been collected and catalogued in the past, as well as, in relation to the present and future research and the means of opening systematic research to the world. In this context, the paper will open/ contribute to the ongoing discussion between academics and those who work in administrative and library services, focusing on the challenges and limits in describing the shift of focus in Library Services towards processes of 'decolonisation,' 'disenclosure,' and 'worlding,' questioning and comparing their pragmatic value in relation to emerging research taking place at the LSHTM. The discussion paper investigates the hypothesis that although the educative role of Anthropology has been long discussed as central in relation to the engagement of anthropology with the world society, it is the way the past is catalogued, interpreted, and represented via archival material and other Library sources that form the national curriculum according to certain values and often unconscious biases. This methodological issue calls for a self-reflective manner in engaging and re-cataloguing these sources as a means of liberating worldly institutions from their historical association with both colonialism and/or nationalism. On the other hand, it is also the way by which systematic reviews are conducted by researchers via the use of Library sources and other resources that defines the focus of research, hence, equally demanding the openess of the focus of research via networking -beyond the exclusiveness of dominant English-speaking institutions and publishers. A further aspect of the paper will highlight the rapid changes taking place in Open Access and the challenges emerging from the publishing industry to researchers and their funders -with additional implications for anthropological research.
Accepted Contribution:
Contribution description:
Paper long abstract:
This paper calls for an open discussion between anthropologists, librarians, and researchers over the shift in Library Services across the University of London towards projects associated with the "decolonizing the curriculum" national project in the UK. Traditional British organizations, such as the London School of Hygiene an Tropical Medicine, the British Museum & British Library, as well as the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK & Commonwealth, have been at the centre of this discussion as their historical past is directly associated with colonalism. This reflects upon the way Archives have been collected and catalogued in the past, as well as, in relation to the present and future research and the means of opening systematic research to the world. In this context, the paper will open/ contribute to the ongoing discussion between academics and those who work in administrative and library services, focusing on the challenges and limits in describing the shift of focus in Library Services towards processes of 'decolonisation,' 'disenclosure,' and 'worlding,' questioning and comparing their pragmatic value in relation to emerging research taking place at the LSHTM. The discussion paper investigates the hypothesis that although the educative role of Anthropology has been long discussed as central in relation to the engagement of anthropology with the world society, it is the way the past is catalogued, interpreted, and represented via archival material and other Library sources that form the national curriculum according to certain values and often unconscious biases. This methodological issue calls for a self-reflective manner in engaging and re-cataloguing these sources as a means of liberating worldly institutions from their historical association with both colonialism and/or nationalism. On the other hand, it is also the way by which systematic reviews are conducted by researchers via the use of Library sources and other resources that defines the focus of research, hence, equally demanding the openess of the focus of research via networking -beyond the exclusiveness of dominant English-speaking institutions and publishers. A further aspect of the paper will highlight the rapid changes taking place in Open Access and the challenges emerging from the publishing industry to researchers and their funders -with additional implications for anthropological research.
Decolonising the academy?
Session 1