Journal
Knowledge Organization
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.5771/0943-7444-2016-8-630
Abstract
Critical histories of subjects and classifications have unearthed the spatial-temporal situatedness of knowledge organization structures and terminologies. Coming to terms with the cultural foundations upon which our knowledge organizations are built and the ways they change and stay the same means that we also confront difficult truths about epistemic and systemic violence. This paper brings KO scholars into dialogue with critical race theorists, indigenous studies scholars, and queer theorists around conversations about reparations and reparative reading practices. It argues that historical studies that expose processes of exclusion and marginalization reveal the need and possibilities for creating reparative taxonomies. The paper identifies specific cases, including #BlackLivesMatter, indigenous subject headings and classifications, and the Digital Transgender Archive as models for taxonomic reparations.
