Extraction on Display–a new article from Monica Salas Landa and Lijuan Xu

Professor Monica Salas Landa (A&S) and Lijuan Xu, Director of Research and Instructional Services, have collaborated on a recently published article, Extraction on Display: Delving into Research, Curation, and Collaboration at a Liberal Arts College. The article is part of the extraction-themed issue of the Canadian Journal of Academic Librarianship. As the subtitle of the article indicates, collaboration was key to the Museum Studies course when it was taught in fall 2023.

Drawing own their experience teaching the intermediate-level museum studies course, this reflective essay aims to demonstrate how faculty and librarians can employ object-centered research to guide students in their exploring and understanding of the extractive practices associated with imperialism and colonialism that have shaped museum and library collections. Salas Landa and Xu specifically focus on the research and curatorial practices that culminated in an end-of-semester exhibit, showcased in both physical and digital formats. Through this exhibit, the student-curators brought to light the process of removing artifacts from their original material and political contexts and their subsequent integration into the library’s collections. Moreover, they critically examined how classification and organization practices and, in certain instances, digitization processes in libraries, can either continue to veil or reveal the history of violence.