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A Genealogy of Refusal : Walking away from crisis and scarcity narrativesMain MenuCrisis narratives frame our responseBartleby at the WallHow can fiction and popular culture inform the way we promulgate or refuse crisis & scarcity narratives in librarianship?Proud Descendants who "Prefer not to"Some recent gems from Bartleby's lineageA Kinship Diagram of Workplace RefusalSatire is richComedic instances of workplace refusal are especially powerfulDark side of parodyMore SatireWhen Expectations Cross the lineWhy don't librarians "Just say No"?Do we prefer to suffer in silence because its a vocation and not "just a job"Feminized LabourSaying Yes all the TimeSuperhero LibrariansIt’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a librarian!The invocation of crisis narratives is relentlessNo individual solution to our problemsDebunking myths that hold us back to enable collective ways of moving forwardWhat refusal can we take up?A Cosmic GiftManifest NOBecoming fluent in hearing and saying NoAsset FramingBibliographyWorks cited, featured, mentioned and consulted for Genealogy of Refusal projectGlossary of Key ConceptsMultiple PathsA compendium of paths through the Genealogy of Refusal content: a choose-your-own-adventure approach to this companion piece.Genealogy of Refusal TimelineWe welcome contributionsLearn how to contribute to this projectAbout the AuthorsNatalie K Meyers4b3948ab8901940da5f2eb884c2cc86b3dc6ac22Anna Michelle Martinez-Montavon1459b2fc55591cd9b08a290af468d31b5dfe46a3Mikala Narlockdb843c923469f0dadab98d57ee053b00c88a64b1Kim Stathersb8f352d1ce6eb714d5242702eaa05362c8eae357Multimedia project for the The Canadian Journal of Academic Librarianship Special Issue on Refusing Crisis Narratives
I am not your hero
12020-12-22T11:12:40-08:00Natalie K Meyers4b3948ab8901940da5f2eb884c2cc86b3dc6ac223394826Murderbot: the alternate patron saint for librariansplain2021-11-08T12:00:31-08:00Kim Stathersb8f352d1ce6eb714d5242702eaa05362c8eae357In our genealogy there are stereotypical librarians from the Bookmobile Bad Girl, to the Parks and Recreation"Sssshh!" librarian, to Morgenstern's Acolytes, Keepers, and Guardians in The Starless Sea. Each of these stereotypes help us to recognize the encumbered ways librarians live out saying nothing but "yes" so we can "deliver it all over town," or how we "Ssssh!" in the face of actual crisis, or even offer ourselves up to elinguation so that saying "No" becomes impossible. The burden of these roles makes it difficult for library employees to refuse, let alone have the difficult conversations we need to work through if we want to experience greater trust in community, whether during abundance or crisis. As an antidote to the hero narrative and accompanying vocational awe, we propose Martha Wells' Murderbot, an anti-hero, as the new patron saint for librarians.
In her novella All Systems Red (2017), author Martha Wells introduces readers to Murderbot, an artificial intelligence designed to serve as a security unit (SecUnit) for profitable ventures. The SecUnit was created for a single purpose: keep the contract alive, even if it means taking damage to itself. Murderbot's feature set ensures that it can do so—but through a first-person perspective, it becomes clear that Murderbot is no gung-ho saviour seeking adulation. In fact, the Murderbot cares about keeping its cohort alive, but only in a self-interested capacity that requires the minimum level of effort and interaction with those it protects.
We learn that Murderbot has hacked its own governor module—the device that is supposed to keep it under the command of the mission leader—and is free to make its own decisions. With this newfound freedom, Murderbot isn't volunteering to take on more work, nor is it attempting to fraternize with its cohort or ingratiate itself in search of greater acceptance or promotion. Murderbot uses its specialist capabilities to create workplace efficiencies that allow it to spend less time working, and more time doing the things it prefers to do. Self-sacrifice is the furthest thing from its mind as it escapes the tedium of work and its workmates by watching episode after episode of Sanctuary Moon re-runs.
This fan-imatic by Mar set to a soundtrack by Canadian duo Tegan and Sara depicts Murderbot, freed from its governing module yet no less expert, no less effective as it [re]-negotiates its relationship with work and team members.
1media/whereareyougoing.jpg2020-12-07T12:00:31-08:00Natalie K Meyers4b3948ab8901940da5f2eb884c2cc86b3dc6ac22Table of ContentsMikala Narlock102A straightforward list of the main pages in the "Genealogy of Refusal" project. This path has been curated and ordered by the authors.image_header10430302021-10-04T14:16:07-07:00Mikala Narlockdb843c923469f0dadab98d57ee053b00c88a64b1
