Educating for Whiteness: Applying Critical Race Theory's Revisionist History in Library and Information Science Research: A Methodology Paper

Research into education for librarianship has failed to explore the historical development of the subject or to establish the social and cultural contexts within which it developed. Such historical background and context are essential for exploring and understanding issues of race and of systemic and institutionalized racism. Historical methodology, coupled with the revisionist history of Critical Race Theory, asks how the social/institutional structures of white society determined the construction of librarianship and education for librarianship in the African-American community, explores issues of whiteness and white privilege, and investigates how this influenced African Americans’ perception of the profession and their place and role in it. It addresses intersectionality and essentialism and seeks to understand the thoughts and feelings of the African Americans involved in the process who were disregarded and ignored.