Information Studies, Race and Racism

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Melissa Villa-Nicholas
Latesha Velez

As Safiya Noble asserts in her seminal work Algorithms of Oppression “The cultural practices of our society...are part of the ways in which race-neutral narratives have increased investments in Whiteness” (p. 59). There is a need to disrupt these race-neutral narratives in Information Studies research and there is a growing body of work that does just that by re-orienting Information Studies research to centralize discussions of race and racism. Many researchers also use critical theories to help analyze their findings or are offering counter-narratives highlighting minoritized actors (such as women and people of color). Re-centering Information Studies by contextualizing it within an analysis of how race and racism affects our field changes what we think we know, and our understandings about Information Studies. Only when these alternate narratives are integrated into the fabric of Information Studies research can Information Studies begin interrogating the long held beliefs in our field.

We are intentionally casting a wide net and invite authors from a broad range of professional and academic backgrounds to contribute to this special issue of Open Information Science journal. We are asking for submissions that centralize the theme of Information Studies, race and racism, in order to evolve the field into a more critical theoretical foundation that moves away from colorblind ideology and narratives of neutrality, which only serve to disguise the ubiquity of whiteness.

The scope of this issue might include, but is not limited to,  research on:

• Anti-racism methods in Information Studies
  
• Critical Race Theory and Information Studies
  
• Deconstructing ‘colorblindness’ in Information Studies and/or information institutions
  
• Intersectional analysis of Information Studies (race and : gender, sexuality, class, disability and ableism, indigeneity,
  
• Classifications, cataloging, and taxonomies
  
• Analysis of whiteness and information organizations, information institutions, or applications of whiteness studies to Information Studies
  
• How notions of race and racism affect our we conceptualize and teach information literacy
  
• Contemporary or historical debates around race and/or racism in information institutions (Libraries, Archives, Museums, special collections, business, education, labor, Silicon Valley, Government, incarceration)
  
• Big Data, race and racism
  
• Race and racism as it relates to knowledge organization
  
• Anti racism or  applications of an analysis of racism of Information Studies in non-Western and/or non U.S. contexts
  
• Information, surveillance, and racism

Abstracts should be sent to Guest Editors (mvnicholas@uri.edu; lmvelez@uncg.edu) or Managing Editor (katarzyna.grzegorek@degruyter.com) before 30 June 2019.        

Abstract should contain:

• The author’s full name, and email address.
  
• A tentative title for the proposed paper
  
• A proposal of no more than 500 words, outlining the theme, research question, hypothesis or focus of the paper, the research approach to be taken to the study (for theoretical or conceptual papers) or the research strategy and methodology to be used (for a research paper or case study), and any other details that help explain the intended purpose and scope of the paper.
  
• Between 3 and 6 keywords to represent the themes or topics in the paper.
  

Authors are kindly invited to register at our paper processing system at: http://www.editorialmanager.com/opis/ and submit their contribution.

Every manuscript should be clearly marked as intended for this special issue. All papers will go through the Open Information Science’s high standards, quick, fair and comprehensive peer-review procedure. Instructions for authors are available here. In case of any questions, please contact Guest Editors or Managing Editor (katarzyna.grzegorek@degruyter.com).

As an author of Open Information Science you will benefit from:

• transparent, comprehensive and fast peer review managed by our esteemed Guest Editor;
  
• efficient route to fast-track publication and full advantage of De Gruyter e-technology;
  
• no publication fees;
  
• free language assistance for authors from non-English speaking regions.

The deadline for submitting abstracts is June, the 30th,  2019.
The deadline to submit full papers is September, the 30th, 2019.