How Can Feminism Help Librarians Confront Authoritarianism in the Twenty-First Century?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vueVxVQqeFo&list=PLGvt9IyrGCa5-EtEPqWqkj9pynH4WSZrZ&index=5

The current increase in book bans and disinformation assaulting librarians in the U.S. are part of a broader rise of authoritarianism around the world.  What are the distinctive features of this global authoritarianism?  How have feminists, especially Black feminist intersectional thinkers, responded to and analyzed this phenomenon?  How can these analyses help librarians confront authoritarianism by promoting social justice, critical thinking and empathy?

Frieda Afary is an Iranian American public librarian in Los Angeles and the author of Socialist Feminism:  A New Approach (Pluto Press, 2022). She is also the 2023-2024 co-chair of PEN America’s Translation Committee.

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