Reflections on Inclusion: Emily Knox

GSLIS Assistant Professor Emily Knox recently discussed the importance of inclusion in her teaching and research with Associate Professor Kathryn La Barre. Knox’s remarks are part of a new interview series, Reflections on Inclusion, which explores the School’s efforts to respect varied perspectives and diversity of experiences.

Knox teaches courses in intellectual freedom and censorship; libraries, information, and society; and reference and information services. Her research focuses on intellectual freedom and censorship, book history and reading practices, and information ethics and policy.


I take a top-down approach to incorporating these issues in my teaching. I’m particularly interested in social justice issues. When I was a master’s student at GSLIS, I enrolled in Social Justice in the Information Professions, a course taught by Ann Bishop that got me interested in pursuing this line of inquiry. I find that by incorporating this viewpoint from the beginning of a course, it sets the overall tone and gets the students thinking. I view my role in integrating diversity and inclusion as an instructor as a process, and I am continually working to have better coverage in each of my classes as they develop over time.

Intellectual Freedom and Censorship (590FR)

Description: This course examines intellectual freedom issues throughout the United States and the world. It approaches intellectual freedom as a social justice issue based in interpretations of the First Amendment and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. It encourages information professionals to view commitment to intellectual freedom as a core professional value. Finally, it gives students the opportunity to develop skills and strategies needed to navigate censorship controversies in the workplace.

One predominant concern I have about these topics is the ways in which LIS takes a U.S.-centric view. I work hard to counteract this by not having the class entirely grounded in U.S. case law. I address inclusion by setting a tone that is more international in scope. By talking about intellectual freedom and censorship across the world, not just in terms of the U.S. Constitution or legal case law, I bring in discussions of international human rights issues.

It is inevitable that we discuss inclusion in this class. Book challenges, sexuality, and racism are all hot-button topics in this course and can be challenging for all participants to discuss. I’m currently working on effective strategies to address issues of labeling and classification and the ways in which organizational structures arbitrarily segment populations. I think good examples are key for explaining these issues.

Libraries, Information, and Society (502)

Description: This course explores major issues in the library and information science professions as they involve their communities of users and sponsors. It analyzes specific situations that reflect the professional agenda of these fields, including intellectual freedom, community service, professional ethics, social responsibilities, intellectual property, literacy, historical and international models, the socio-cultural role of libraries and information agencies and professionalism in general, focusing in particular on the interrelationships among these issues. Required M.S. degree core course.

Social justice and censorship in libraries are central topics in this course. I’m especially careful about examples that help illustrate these topics, such as how we talk about poor or historically underserved populations, how policies affect people, and how we attempt to serve the public through information centers. I try to bring these issues into every class and try to show how the history of librarianship has traditionally been based in middle-class values—such as the concept of what constitutes “good books.”

Another key aspect of this class is helping students develop professional competencies and understand the prevalent ethical standards. For example, in a recent class, we discussed the fact that pornography is legally protected speech. This is a very controversial topic, and as a new professor, I am still working out comfortable ways to discuss hot-button topics like race and censorship. Next time, I’m planning to set the tone earlier, by talking about information ethics from the beginning. I find that inclusion is organically part of this course; for example, the students constantly engage with questions about who is left out when we create information services.

As part of their coursework, students create and present posters and annotated bibliographies. They select wide-ranging topics, which last term included ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliance in libraries and materials about and for the Trans community in school library materials.

Reference (504)

Description: This course explores reference and information services in a variety of settings, introduces widely used print and online sources, and develops question-negotiation skills and search strategies.

In this course, incorporating inclusion is all about the examples used. One class session focuses on learning about services to various populations, selected by students. One of my goals is to ensure that they focus on historically underrepresented and marginalized groups. I find that students come up with great ideas for how to focus their work, such as the needs of international students at institutions of higher learning, African American youth in cities, and even the ways in which we discuss issues embedded in classification and selection. This course also covers ethics and issues that can arise.

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