Session 2A: Mesearching the network of whitenessharmdiversity

According to the call for proposals, the POCinLIS Summit acknowledges that dominant narratives may be disrupted. Therefore, I am proposing a presentation that interrogates the dominant, celebratory narrative that diversity initiatives in LIS serve the people for which they intend to support. As a queer graduate student of color in LIS at a small, private, predominantly white institution in Massachusetts and now as a doctoral student in information studies at a large, public university in Southern California where I am not a racial minority, my experiences with diversity committees have led to the same outcome—one that I characterize as harmful. I once believed in the diversity hype and proactively navigated oppressive power dynamics with decision-makers to impact change towards an anti-oppressive learning environment. Informed by these experiences, together with research in Information Studies and Higher Education, I will present a critical analysis of: 1) diversity research as a panopticon to surveil people of color; and 2) diversity initiatives as institutional devices to manage insurgence and protect whiteness. As a doctoral student, hoping to one day gain full-time access to the classroom to co-learn with students, serve as a mentor for students of color, and hold voting power to impact policy...and oh, yes, of course—to pursue research inquiries, I cannot help but wonder nearly every day if the pain and anger are worth it. And this is why I am mesearching the network of whitenessharmdiversity