1. ‘Getting smart’ in a time of
change
Finding our critical voice in our work
Andrew Preater, University of West London (He/him)
Rosie Hare, The Northern School of Art (She/her)
ARLG Conference 2019 #arlg19, 4 June 2019
@preater and @RosieHare

2. Chatham House rule
“Participants are free to use the information
received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of
the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may
be revealed.”
— Chatham House, 2018

3. Workshop outline
What is critique, in five minutes!
Activity: reflective question
Small group work
Reflection and action
5 mins
8 mins
20-25 mins
Remainder

4. Learning outcomes
Understanding of practitioners’ and peers’ critical responses
to shared challenges in our sectors
Extended self-knowledge of motivation for developing
critical responses, and its limits and risks
Sharing of reflective analyses in-depth about our real-world
workplace issues

5. What is critique, in five minutes!
Critique is a process which informs and directs
actions which carry social and ethical implications,
beyond the technical execution of library work.

6. Critique, power and critical insight
We mean to focus on power
We mean analyses of established authority and
dominant means of control
We use critique to develop insight to inspect our
work, as a foundation for reflective practice

7. Work and practice is political
Patti Lather theorizes practice as politically grounded,
“The requirements of praxis are theory both relevant to the
world and nurtured by actions in it, and an action component
[...] that grows out of practical political grounding.”
— Lather (1991, p.12)

8. We locate hope within spaces of struggle
bell hooks guides us to understanding,
“When we only name the problem, when we state complaint
without a constructive focus or resolution, we take hope
away. In this way critique can become merely an expression
of profound cynicism, which then works to sustain dominator
culture.”
— hooks (2003, p.xiv)

9. Activity: reflective question
Michel Foucault wrote that, “Critique doesn’t have to be the
premise of a deduction that concludes, ‘this, then, is what
should be done.’ It should be an instrument for those who
fight, those who resist and refuse what is. Its use should be in
processes of conflict and confrontation, essays in refusal.”
— Foucault (2000 p.236)

10. Activity: reflective question
Think about yourself in a position of being one who “refuses what is”.
Think and write about: what you wanted to say, but felt that you couldn’t,
about not being able to to provide a service due to a constraint outside
your control.
Consider your thoughts and feelings about the situation, without trying to
work out how to solve the problem. Be descriptive about your thoughts,
and do not feel pressured to reach a fully-formed conclusion.

11. Activity: finding our critical voice
“What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need
to say?” — Lorde (2007 pp.41-43)
Discuss and analyse as far you can the power structures in
your organisation or community. Think about the positive and
negative forces which support or restrict you in having these
conversations. Think about why it is that you were prevented
from saying what you needed to say.

12. Structured questions
1. What ideas do you have about changing what we do, to transform
practice?
2. Are there opportunities within the system? What opportunities are
there outside the system? What opportunities are there to change the
system?
3. What is stopping you from doing things differently?
4. What do you need to (un)learn before you can do this?
5. Can we productively redirect the narrative of ‘proving our value’ and
‘doing more with less’?

13. Reflection and action

14. How can we support each other’s learning?
Sara Ahmed teaches us that, “Critical theory is like any
language; you can learn it, and when you learn it, you begin
to move around in it.”
— Ahmed (2017, p.9)

15. References
Ahmed, S. (2017) Living a feminist life. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Chatham House (2018) Chatham House rule. Available at:
https://www.chathamhouse.org/chatham-house-rule (Accessed: 17 February 2019)
Foucault, M. (2000) ‘Questions of method’, in Faubion, J.D. (Ed.), Power. New York, NY:
New Press, pp.223-238.
hooks, b. (2007). Teaching community: a pedagogy of hope. Abingdon: Routledge.
Lather, P. (1991) Getting smart: feminist pedagogy with/in the postmodern. London:
Routledge
Lorde, A. (2007) Sister outsider: essays and speeches. Reprint. Berkeley, CA: Crossing
Press.