scholarly journals Overcoming Challenges to Critical Information Literacy: Primary Source Analysis as Consciousness-Raising

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-112
Author(s):  
Julie M. Porterfield
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Source Analysis ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Critical Information ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Literacy Tool

Critical information literacy can be described as the application of critical pedagogy, or a theory of learning that endeavors to impact social change, to information literacy. The use of critical pedagogy in information literacy instruction is simultaneously on-trend in theory and also criticized for the obstacles to its practical implementation. Due to historic collecting practices in archives and special collections libraries, teaching with archival collections presents an advantageous way to integrate critical information literacy. This case study describes the use of primary source analysis as a critical information literacy tool in a one-shot instruction session for a cross-listed communications and women’s studies course, focusing on gender roles and communication.

scholarly journals Information literacy in the humanities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Pettersson
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Digital Humanities ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Round Table ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
New Ways Of Working ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Many university libraries hold cultural heritage collections that are unknown to the majority of students. The digitisation of these collections offers new ways of working with primary sources, and with it, an increasing interest in archives and older collections. This development has made us reflect on our information literacy classes within the humanities. Are we too influenced by the STEM and social science interpretations of information literacy and their focus on the peer-reviewed article? We want to challenge this view and discuss what a humanities approach to information literacy could incorporate.We want to invite you to a discussion on how we can integrate archival material and other primary sources into our classes,thus broadening mainstream information literacy to include primary source literacy (see ACRL’s Guidelines for primary source literacy, 2018). Our understanding is that this topic is generally not discussed at Nordic information literacy conferences, and our literature review indicates that this field is mostly addressed by special collections librarians and archivists (Hauck & Robinson, 2018; Hubbard & Lotts, 2013; Samuelson & Coker, 2014).In addition, in digital humanities pedagogy, there is need for reflection on data or sources beyond “tool-based thinking” which this approach would open up for(Giannetti, 2017). We will share two examples of how we have engaged students with primary sources and discuss the pedagogical challenges and opportunities. Our aim has been to go beyond show and tell and let the students actively work with primary sources. One example, from the Master’s Program in Digital Humanities, involved working with digitised sources using the platform Omeka. In the other, first year students from the Department of Conservation explored primary sources from the Gothenburg Exhibitionheld in 1923. Hopefully, this round table can be a stepping-stone for forming a network where we continue to share our experiences.

scholarly journals Critical Information Literacy as a Path to Resist “Fake News”: Understanding Disinformation as the Root Problem

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 274-286
Author(s):  
Anna Cristina Brisola ◽  
Andréa Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Simple Task ◽  
Critical Information ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
New Information ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
State Of Vigilance

Abstract This paper proposes to discuss the problem of Fake News, its root problem disinformation and the path to resist it, critical information literacy. It initially distinguishes the concepts of fake news and disinformation through the views of authors as Allcott & Gentzkow (2017), Chomsky (2014), Serrano (2010) and Volkoff (1999). Our perspective considers that none of these phenomena are new or recent, and we do not consider the “combat” of fake news to be a simple task, considering that it involves issues related to the limits of freedom of speech and media censorship. Fake News are understood as intentionally and verifiably false articles created to manipulate people and disinformation as a bigger ensemble of techniques to manipulate public opinion for political gain with perverted (but not only false) information. One way to deal with these matters goes through a more complex process: the development of critical information literacy in the society as a whole. This concept is studied from the work of Downey (2016), Elmborg (2012), Freire (1967;1970) and others. Freire’s critical pedagogy helps the self-construction of subjects aware of their position and their social role, and it is a basic key for the formation of autonomous, critical and responsible individuals. Based on that, critical information literacy is a state of vigilance towards information that enables people to understand that information is socially constructed and to use it to produce new information in a creative and contextualized way. It concludes that critical information literacy is a consistent tool of resistance to Fake News as it allows people not only survive the informational flood but mainly to build a more ethical society in the use of information.

scholarly journals Leveraging Existing Frameworks to Support Undergraduate Primary Source Research

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 246
Author(s):  
Brigitte Billeaudeaux ◽  
Rachel E. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Source Materials

This exploratory study aims to improve librarian support for undergraduate users as they find, access, evaluate, and appropriately use primary source materials in their research. By approaching object-based information literacy instruction via the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (Framework), this project will promote use of academic library special collections and archives in ways that reinforce the theoretical approach espoused by that document. Primary source evaluations collected before and after one semester of Framework-based instruction indicate that the concepts identified therein are relevant to and support learning with primary sources.

scholarly journals Critical digital pedagogy and cultural sensitivity in the library classroom: Infographics and digital storytelling

2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myra Waddell ◽  
Elena Clariza
Keyword(s):  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Critical Information ◽  
Digital Pedagogy

Academic librarians have a demonstrated interest in digital tools for teaching and learning and often provide support for these tools to their wider campus communities. Additionally, many librarians incorporate these tools into their own teaching in the information literacy classroom. However, little has been written about how digital tools can support critical information literacy and critical pedagogy specifically in library instruction. Eamon Tewell defines critical information literacy as instruction that asks “students to engage with and act upon the power structures underpinning information’s production and dissemination.”1 According to Paulo Freire, critical pedagogy acknowledges that education is a political action that can have an adverse effect on certain students.2 We define critical as self-reflexive and intentionally engaged with power structures.

scholarly journals Information literacy in the humanities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Petterson ◽  
Anna Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Digital Humanities ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Round Table ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
New Ways Of Working ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Many university libraries hold cultural heritage collections that are unknown to the majority of students. The digitisation of these collections offers new ways of working with primary sources, and with it, an increasing interest in archives and older collections. This development has made us reflect on our information literacy classes within the humanities. Are we too influenced by the STEM and social science interpretations of information literacy and their focus on the peer-reviewed article? We want to challenge this view and discuss what a humanities approach to information literacy could incorporate.  We want to invite you to a discussion on how we can integrate archival material and other primary sources into our classes, thus broadening mainstream information literacy to include primary source literacy (see ACRL’s Guidelines for primary source literacy, 2018). Our understanding is that this topic is generally not discussed at Nordic information literacy conferences, and our literature review indicates that this field is mostly addressed by special collections librarians and archivists (Hauck & Robinson, 2018; Hubbard & Lotts, 2013; Samuelson & Coker, 2014). In addition, in digital humanities pedagogy, there is need for reflection on data or sources beyond “tool-based thinking” which this approach would open up for (Giannetti, 2017).  We will share two examples of how we have engaged students with primary sources and discuss the pedagogical challenges and opportunities. Our aim has been to go beyond show and tell and let the students actively work with primary sources. One example, from the Master’s Program in Digital Humanities, involved working with digitised sources using the platform Omeka. In the other, first year students from the Department of Conservation explored primary sources from the Gothenburg Exhibition held in 1923.  Hopefully, this round table can be a stepping-stone for forming a network where we continue to share our experiences.  

scholarly journals From critical information literacy to a critical theory of information

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Bezerra
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Historical Materialism ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Literacy Studies ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Critical Information ◽  
Theory Of Information

In addition to proposing a reflective and revisionist analysis of information literacy conventions and institutional norms, critical information literacy studies assume a practical commitment to engage in the struggle against the power structures that support the dominant production and dissemination of information, creating obstacles to autonomy and social emancipation. This commitment is based on Paulo Freire's pedagogical perspective of praxis, which has in its (often overlooked) roots the critical fortune of Marxist historical materialism – which, in turn, also underpins the critical theory of the Frankfurt School philosophers. With this epistemological recognition in mind, this article presents a proposal for a critical theory of information conceived from a mediation between critical information literacy studies, critical pedagogy and critical theory, in an attempt to strengthen the theoretical-methodological perspective that guides the pedagogical praxis of such studies in the field of Library and Information Science.

scholarly journals The Manuscript as Question: Teaching Primary Sources in the Archives—The China Missions Project

2010 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-62
Author(s):  
Michelle McCoy
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Collaborative Effort ◽  
Direct Experience ◽  
Student Responses ◽  
Research Education ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
The Impact

The collaborative effort between two Special Collections librarians and a history professor at DePaul University led to a quarter-long undergraduate project in the archives using China Missions Correspondence. In a reversal of traditional methods that assumes archival use to answer a question, this project looks at the document as the source of the questions. A qualitative analysis of student responses from these class sessions between 2002 and 2008 reveals the impact that direct experience has on primary source education and how outreach and user instruction in the archives can transform research, education, and the place of special collections within the institution. As a case study, this paper examines planning, administration, identification, instruction, and assessment of the project from the librarians’ perspective.

Critical Pedagogy In Libraries: A Unified Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa M. Gustafson
Keyword(s):  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Literacy Instruction ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Academic Publishing ◽  
Unified Approach ◽  
Information Literacy Instruction ◽  
Scholarly Communications ◽  
Paolo Friere ◽  
Foundational Work

Critical pedagogy originated in the social sciences during the mid-twentieth century with the foundational work of Paolo Friere. More recently in information science, James Elmborg and others have framed critical pedagogy through the lens of information literacy instruction. As a whole the philosophy is one which considers economic, political, and societal systems which influence the entire information life cycle from creation to consumption. Central to the adoption was the incorporation of learners as equals with valid and highly individualized experiences in academic discourse. Beyond information literacy instruction, critical pedagogy has the potential to also benefit and define the librarian's outreach and support role for the scholarly communications process. Scholarly communications encompasses both traditional academic publishing models (peer reviewed journals, conference presentations, etc.) and nontraditional channels (social media, open access, etc.) and is concerned with the information lifecycle as it relates to teaching research and scholarly work. In consideration of scholarly communications processes, issues of critical pedagogy including external market forces, privilege of information, systems of access, and consumption all play a defining role. A move to a more unified approach of critical pedagogy in libraries would highlight crucial issues of information literacy and scholarly communications while simultaneously augmenting the library's role across campus. The evolution of critical pedagogy in libraries is briefly discussed. Current scholarly communications practices in academic libraries as seen through the literature and by examining U.S. library websites is also reviewed. The author makes suggestions for meaningful inclusion of critical pedagogy in libraries through a unified approach to scholarly communications and information literacy programs.

Information Literacy and Education Policy: An Instrumental Case Study of the Ontario Public School Curriculum

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pia Liv Russell
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Education System ◽  
Instrumental Case Study ◽  
Student Access ◽  
Literacy Policy ◽  
Étude Cas

This interdisciplinary case study explores information literacy policy in Ontario’s public education system. Using interviews with policy makers and a rhetorical analysis of information literacy policy documents, it finds Ontario’s current information literacy policy inadequate to the task of providing equitable student access to opportunities for information literacy development.Une étude cas interdisciplinaire explore la politique de littératie informationnelle du système d’éducation publique de l’Ontario. En utilisant des entrevues avec les décideurs et une analyse rhétorique des documents sur la politique de littératie informationnelle, il est démontré que la politique de littératie informationnelle actuelle de l’Ontario est inappropriée pour la mission qui vise à offrir aux étudiants un accès équitable aux possibilités de développement de la littératie informationnelle. 

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