No individual solution to our problems
In the “The Dangers of Cynical Sci-Fi Disaster Stories” Cory Doctorow talks about "the characters’ dawning realization that there is no individual solution to their problems—that the kind of systemic change they want is a team sport and has to include people usually left on the sidelines in tech fights." (Doctorow, Oct 2020). (Maybe Brin here too and Stephenson and Vonnegut? Contrast with world builders Butler etc)
Zaidi, Leah. 2021. “Welcome to the Cyberpunk Dystopia.” Presented at the FITC Sessions, March 11. http://fitc.ca/event/cyberpunk/.
When COVID-19 began, many of us looked to science fiction and found that pandemic stories didn’t fit the reality that emerged – we were looking in the wrong place! High-tech, low-life, and an uncertain future places us in a cyberpunk dystopia; COVID-19 is all about order and control, and this has implications for what and how we design in the present and for the future.
Zaidi explains Why we’re in a cyberpunk dystopia and how we can design our way out of it. She emphasizes we can understand the value of dystopias and how they can be applied in human-centred design initiatives.
What is a dystopia [ Zaidi]
The role of dystopias in society [Zaidi & Doctorow and Brin etc)
Why we’re living in a cyberpunk dystopia
The design implications of a cyberpunk dystopia
How to use dystopias strategically [take up Zaidi's thought and see how it complements Doctorow and librarianship crisis and scarcity responses? ]
Negotiation is key to unburdening and moving forward. We've talked about communicating what you'll need to take on a new task as an individual in Flowchart. Negotiation is also key to increasing collective benefits and mitigating systemic inequity.
Peña McCook, Kathleen de la. 2010. “Unions in Public and Academic Libraries.” https://doi.org/10.1081/E-ELIS3-120043805.
the thing i s awesome
Reframing the conversation
Shelley. Last Library. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwVtvfUPMg4.
Saying "No" can be difficult-- there are ways to structure responses to inappropriate expectations that reclaim autonomy:
Credentialing? Professional Gatekeeping (remember Popowhich? ) when we change the profession or bifurcate the role just so others can get paid more, whose interests do we serve?
Buschman, John. 2003. Dismantling the Public Sphere : Situating and Sustaining Librarianship in the Age of the New Public Philosophy. Westport (Conn.): Libraries Unlimited.
Seale, Maura, and Rafia Mirza. 2019. “Empty Presence: Library Labor, Prestige, and the MLS.” Library Trends 68 (2): 252–68. https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2019.0038
