ENGL 349: Race, Culture and Identity in Multi-Ethnic Literature of the US

In November 2017 Christen A. Smith created Cite Black Women as a campaign to push people to engage in a radical praxis of citation that acknowledges and honors Black women’s transnational intellectual production.

From the University of Minnesota, this guide shares racist research systems and practices, followed by resources for mitigating those problematic systems and practices, but the creators acknowledge that this is not a solution to the issues of racism embedded in research.

Lee & Low Books released the first Diversity Baseline Survey in 2015. Before the DBS, people suspected publishing had a diversity problem, but without hard numbers, the extent of that problem was anyone’s guess. Our goal was to survey publishing houses and review journals regarding the racial, gender, sexual orientation, and ability makeup of their employees; establish concrete statistics about the diversity of the publishing workforce; and then build on this information by reissuing the survey every four years. Through these long-term efforts, we would be able to track what progress our industry shows over time in improving representation and inclusion.

When we bring conscientious citational practices in the classroom, we also help to create more diverse and inclusive classrooms. We can show all students that their voices matter, and that diversity is a strength rather than a bonus. Conscientious citational practices can foster the creation of safer and braver spaces. They can also provide opportunities for your students to learn about, and respect, multiple perspectives and different backgrounds.

Our goal in establishing this initiative was to empower women and non-binary folks to celebrate their accomplishments in a safe space. However, before we get to our awesome list, we wanted to take a moment to discuss some of the thinking behind this kind of celebration, why talking about accomplishments remains so fraught for women and non-binary folks in and out of academia, and the importance of using inclusive language. We would like to take a moment to acknowledge that while we are focusing on the experiences of women and non-binary historians in this blog post, many of the issues that are discussed below are also faced by historians of colour and historians with disabilities, as well as first-generation academics.

One tenet of scientific publishing is the use of academic citations—nods to what’s known or has been done before. But referencing something other than a traditional written source can feel superficial: A “personal communication” citation, for example, typically doesn’t show up in a reference list. Now, a librarian has spearheaded an effort to develop more thorough citation templates for the oral teachings often shared by members of Indigenous communities.