The Bell Ringer, the official blog of the CRTcollective. Here you will find scholarly blogs and essays written by CRTc members, as well as contributing authors from around the world. We welcome interdisciplinary scholars, information professionals, educators, community organizers and activists, and students to submit your work and share your knowledge, experience, and expertise.
CRTc TV, is the handle for the CRTcollective 
The Organic Intellectuals (TOI), the official podcast of the CRTcollective. TOI offers conversation with fascinating scholars, activists, pedagogues, and professionals. Not only do you hear about their great work, listeners also get a glimpse into the personal and professional journey that has led to TOI guest’s success and leadership….Organic Conversations with Organic Intellectuals.
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Three of our collective, (Fezile Sibanda, Naomi Smith, & Alice Corble) will be speaking on Decolonisation in educational spaces at York St John Uni on Dec. 15th! Register for the event at https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/events/upcoming/discussing-decolonisation-1.php
If you’re near London, you’re invited to a CRTc Resistant Knowledges gathering October 30th with guest speakers Dr. Gabriella Beckles-Raymond and Dr. Phillip Beckles-Raymond. Find out more on our website and link tree.
Yesterday, Australia disappointedly voted no on the proposed “Indigenous Voice” in parliament decision. Read CRTc’s latest blog for background and a look at the intersection of colonization and Critical Race Theory.
A very warm welcome to our newest CRTc member, Ramona! She is a Medical Librarian at Monash University, Australia and is passionate about combating racial bias in medical research, Ramona has delivered talks at institutions and conferences internationally, including NIHR, CALC, and ALIA, and authored papers on this topic. Ramona’s tool for critically appraising antiracism has been shared and utilised by various institutions, including the University of Cambridge. She is a lead author of Health Education England’s health equity eLearning module, and collaborated with Cardiff University to develop a program aimed at fostering antiracist practices among undergraduate medical students. Ramona has developed Open Education Resources for critical appraisal instructors, available via https://www.criticallyappraisingantiracism.org/
We`re thrilled to announce submissions are open for another special issue of Education for Information! This issue calls upon authors to engage with the theme of unmasking coloniality through resistant knowledge.
Read the full call for papers on our website crtcollective.org!
New article alert! CRTc’s The Bell Ringer 🛎️ has a new post! Our blog editor, Stephanie Birch, sounds off about carceral book bans in a resounding new article.
Our latest episode of The Organic Intellectuals introduces our East Atlantic team (formerly known as the UK team). Founding members Alice Corbel and Natasha Howard join newer members to discuss their works/passions & deliver insights on topics related to colonization, racial justice as well as CRT.
Listen to the first part by heading to our website`s media page!
We`d like to highlight Marilyn Clarke, part of our editorial leadership! Her work focuses inclusive library services, decolonisation initiatives, and racial equality and representation in libraries.
She has an MSc in Race and Ethnic Relations and currently works at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London. She is also a member of the Race Equality Charter Self-Assessment team, and the Libraries Inclusivity Group.
Highlighting CRTc co-founding member, Stephanie Birch! Stephanie is the Africana Studies Librarian at the University of Connecticut with an MLIS from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a joint MA in African Studies. Stephanie also created and edits CRTc`s blog, The Bell Ringer. You can find out more about Stephanie on her website stephaniebirch.com including more information about her newest project: The Rad Little Library radlittlelibrary.com./
TOI-n-LA is here! In part 1, UCLA`s Michelle Caswell, community archivist, is joined by the Executive Director of the Texas After Violence Project, Gabriel Solís. Part 2 features UCLA`s Thuy Vo Dang, oral historian. Check out both parts on our website by visiting The Organic Intellectuals podcast on our media page.
CRTc`s Dr. Dunbar has a new article to share on the intersection of Critical Race Theory and Information Theory: "Every information context is a CRiTical Race Information Theory opportunity"!
https://doi.org/10.1108/DTS-02-2023-0013
This week we`re highlighting a new CRTc member, Dr. Jon E. Cawthorne (he/him) who is in charge of organizational leadership and board development. He is the dean of Wayne State University Library System in Detroit, Michigan. He also leads the ALA-accredited Wayne State School of Information Sciences and chairs the ACRL Diversity Alliance program. Cawthorne has a long history in academic libraries and we`re excited to have him in our collective!
In a first for The Organic Intellectuals, our UK-based Dr. Corble interviews Atif Choudhury in his Brighton office of Diversity and Ability, an award-winning social enterprise led by and for disabled people. In the episode, they discuss neurodiversity from various vantage points. A great listen for beginners and experts on the topic alike!
Check out this episode and more on our resources page.
Stay tuned for a new podcast episode featuring award-winning Atif Choudhury – a social entrepreneur with a background in economic justice and disability inclusion!
We want to extend a warm welcome to our Editorial Associate and Community Contributor: Fezile Sibanda!
Fezile (she/her) is a Doctoral researcher in Education at the University of Sussex, UK focusing on race and higher education.
Her doctoral research examines the experiences of Black Brit-ish academics in Higher Education Institutions in England. She uses storytelling as a form of intergenerational knowledge exchange and draws on the African (Bantu, Nguni) philosophy of Ubuntu as a research methodology.
Fezile has written about race, gender, and intersectional environmentalism for academic articles, magazines, and blogs. Additionally, Fezile is involved with SHY Collective, which aims to make academic work more accessible by challenging educational and academic structures.
Have you checked out our latest podcast episode yet? Here`s a preview where our guest, Sofia Leung, talks about graduate school and the differences between an MPA and MLIS.
Sofia Leung, co-editor of Knowledge Justice: Disrupting Library and Information Studies through Critical Race Theory discusses what led to the book`s release as well as the nuances between racial justice and Critical Race Theory in this new clip from The Organic Intellectuals podcast.
Sofia Leung is a leading voice at the intersection of Critical Race Theory and Library Information Science. We`re thrilled to share our latest two-part podcast episode with her as a guest! Check out The Organic Intellectuals podcast on our website`s resources page. Link in bio!
Both parts of our conversation with the Critical Pedagogy Symposium are up on our website now! This year`s symposium focuses on Critical Race Theory and this clip goes over why it was chosen. We hope you enjoy!
Have you listened to our most recent podcast episode? Here`s a clip where the guests from the Critical Pedagogy Symposium have to say about their experiences with critical librarianship in grad school.
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All colonialisms are racial and racist – race is a colonial sorting tool. Coloniality is a process that invents race to sustain and manage itself.
Check out this PhD Research Opportunity Scholarship at UCL for Black British or Asian British students:
UCL Research Opportunity Scholarship
UCL's Research Opportunity Scholarship (UCL-ROS) supports BAME postgraduate research degree students.
www.ucl.ac.uk