Consequences of Classification: Systemic Violence Against Marginalized Communities
Melissa Adler, assistant professor of information and media studies at the University of Western Ontario, will give the talk, Consequences of Classification: Systemic Violence Against Marginalized Communities on Monday, December 4, 2017, from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, 114 Bird Library. Her lecture is part of the Syracuse Symposium series on Belonging.
Systems of classification exist across every field, from biological taxonomies to library shelves. These systems reflect the values of their creators and exert power in defining relationships of belonging. Using classifications as primary historical texts and conceptualizing them as systems that organize state and cultural discourses, Adler will discuss some of the processes by which the marginalization of queer and racialized subjects becomes systemic, and ways that critical analysis reveals possibilities for organizing otherwise. Interdisciplinary fields, such as critical animal studies, disability studies, queer studies, and critical race studies are deeply invested in the critique and production of taxonomies and language, and while they share similar histories of oppression, their subjects push the limits of classifications in unique and compelling ways.
On Tuesday, December 5 from 9 a.m. to noon in 304 Tolley, Adler follows her public lecture with a focused workshop on how classification systems—from biological taxonomies to library organization systems—reflect the values of their creators and exert power, especially over marginalized subjects. This small-group discussion will focus on deconstructing social norms and taxonomies, as they pertain to LGBTQ communities. If you’d like to attend, please contact Rachel Clarke at rclark01@syr.edu by November 28, including any requests for accessibility accommodations.
These events are jointly sponsored by the Syracuse University Libraries and the School of Information Studies.
Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be available for the lecture. If you need an accommodation to be able to fully participate in this event, please contact Patrick Williams at jpwill03@syr.edu by November 28.