I wrote and filmed this video as a final assignment for BIS 255 Critical Diversity with Dr. Jeff Murr during Winter Quarter 2024. I was so pleased with it, I decided to share it with others via the Campus Library Blog. This was my first ever self-video, so please forgive any production issues! Follow the links in the transcript below to view the books in our Campus Library catalog.

[Transcript]

Hello, and welcome to Basement Book Talk. I’m your host, Steve, and welcome to my library in the basement. For my first episode, I have a Top Ten List of books for social justice librarians, or anyone interested in celebrating and centering difference. This is a highly opinionated list of five non-fiction and five science fiction books that I think everyone should read at some point, or at least know about.

First and foremost is A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn. This is the book that changed it all for me. After reading the first few chapters for a class, I bought the book and read it over the summer of 1989 and it changed my life. This was one of the first books of what some call revisionist history, but more accurately, it’s real history as it tells the story of not just white European Americans, but everyone in the United States—hence the title “A People’s History”. Absolutely a must read.

Dovetailing perfectly with Zinn is my second book, A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki. I read several chapters for a course Spring Quarter 2023 and much like A People’s History, it is a narrative history of all people in the multicultural United States. Takaki specifically tells the stories of minority groups, such as Native Americans, Black and LatinX people and Asians, specifically Chinese, Japanese, and Arab Americans. Takaki is a wonderful storyteller, and this book is wonderful as well.

Third, Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire. I have known about this book for decades but did not actually read it until last year when I returned to college. One of the very first assignments was the chapter on “The Banking Concept of Education” and it blew my mind. It gave me a whole new way of looking at not just education but also society and the world in general. I feel like if I had read this when I was in my 20s instead of my 50s, my life trajectory may have changed completely.

Number four: Orientalism by Edward Said. Another book I’ve known about forever, but only read now that I’m back in college. If you’ve ever taken a class on ethnicity and race, global studies, or culture, literature, and arts, you’ve probably encountered this incredible book. What Zinn did for American history, Said did for cultural studies, looking at the relations between European and “The Orient” [air quotes]. Groundbreaking, foundational classic. It is the text that launched subaltern studies and is so important when discussing colonialism and imperialism in any context.

Number five and the last of the nonfiction is The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley. Like many other people, I was someone who thought I knew what Malcolm X was all about, but I discovered that you can’t really understand the real Malcolm X until you read and hear his own words. I read this a few years after the Spike Lee movie came out and it was so darn good. This is not just Malcolm’s life story but also what he believed in and what he stood up for. Even though he has been gone for decades now, his work and his ideas resonate to this day. This should be read by everyone, especially anyone who believes that Black lives matter.

On to science fiction. These may not be as directly related to social justice as the first five books, but imagining the future is an excellent way to shine a light on issues of the past and present. Some of these futures are positive, some are negative, but one can imagine and explore from there.

First off, number six: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. This is a utopian novel but not your typical dystopian novel like we have today. It contrasts two very different worlds: one very much like our own world with various nation states in conflict with each other, the other an exile community on the planet’s moon and the egalitarian anarchist society they’ve created. This book is incredible and so densely packed with ideas. You could read this for so many different classes: literature, political science, even Eastern philosophy, and physics! Honestly, you can read anything by Ursula K. Le Guin as it’s all great.

Speaking of other great authors where you cannot go wrong with anything they’ve written: number seven is The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. I read this shortly after moving to Seattle in 1995 and it was so good and so gripping, it drew me in, and I read it in one sitting. I’ve been meaning to re-read it for years, but the dysfunctional America portrayed in the beginning of this book is way too similar to current conditions we’re living in and that’s just depressing. However, there is indeed hope in this absolutely brilliant book. So many people acknowledge Butler and this book’s importance and I do, too.

Coming in at number eight is The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson. It asks: what if the Black Death had killed 90% of the European population instead of 50? With that vacuum, the centrality of power and civilization grows up outside of Europe, namely the Arab world, India, China, and Japan. It covers 600 years by moving through different periods of this new history and looks at what might have been with these cultures rising to prominence instead of a European based dominant culture. The last chapter, rather than riffing on our own history, steps a bit into the future and it is so revolutionary and hopeful. After I finished it, I had to just lie there for a good half hour thinking about it because I was so overwhelmed… but overwhelmed in the best way.

Back to a more negative, dark outlook for the future: number nine is The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. This novel takes place in a world not too distant from our own today as it is post everything: post climate change with rising ocean levels, the collapse of the natural environment and commercial agriculture, beyond peak oil with the exhaustion of fossil fuels. It takes place in Bangkok Thailand, and I think it’s the first near-future book I read that did not have a white American or European as its main character. It is one of the most depressing science fiction books I’ve ever read, but it is so detailed and so insightful as to what may come to pass in our own world, that I have to recommend it anyway.

And finally, number ten! While it does not specifically get into issues of race, ethnicity, and gender that are at the forefront of social justice movements, it is still a very important book… and it’s also my favorite science fiction book of all time: Dune by Frank Herbert. This is absolutely incredible world building and a deep meditation on politics, ecology, religion, and the nature of power. I first read this in junior high and at this point, I’ve read it more times than I can count. Every time I reread it, I get something new out of it. If you’ve seen any of the movies, you seriously need to read the book! It fills in so much more detail about this amazingly crafted universe and the ideas within. And like I said, it’s one of my all-time favorites. 🙂

I hope you enjoyed this list and I sincerely hope you go to your local library, independent bookstore, or wherever you get your books to check out any or all of these titles I recommend as essentials for any social justice activist library. Regardless of what you choose to read, learn about the past and think about the future. Together, let’s create a more just and equitable world, here and now, today and tomorrow.

Keep reading and keep fighting.

Each month, the Campus Library staff create multiple thoughtful displays that can be found on the first and second floors. This post documents all of the library displays from the months of April and May 2019.

April Displays

April’s displays featured books, media, information, and art pertaining to the topic of Poetry in different forms.

April Poetry Month Meets Earth Day – 1st Floor

Created by Cora (Circulation Lead)

“The question I wanted to pose to our campus: How creative writing about the natural world can become a catalyst for people to look a little closer and think more deeply about the delicate connection between humans and nature. And how this new understanding can inspire individuals to be more aware of their individual impact on the environment on a daily basis. With the help of student employees I was able to create my vision of display decor. I wanted to center the ‘natural’ with words – using the bold visuals to introduce folks to my materials which were a selection of poetry, critical analysis, introductions to eco-poetry, essay collections, writings from women, people of color, and even different languages. I tried to encapsulate a wide range of work illustrating that environmental conservation is not a movement only concerning the centric U.S. but is an issue that is worldwide – environmental degradation effects a wide range of countries and communities (if not all). Effecting the whole – not only a small number. The nuanced message is that beginning with self (decreasing our individual carbon footprint) is how we can reach the whole when thinking about trying to reverse or at least balance out the progression of climate change.” – Cora

Diverse Children’s Poetry – 2nd Floor

Created by Lucy and Zoe (Circulation Student Employees)

In honor of this year’s April Poetry Month and Celebrate Diversity Month, the theme for April’s Children’s Literature Display was Culturally Diverse Children’s Poetry! The display featured children’s poems of multiple countries, written in multiple languages. We had also included a few children’s poems for anyone to take for Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 18th.

May Displays

May’s displays covered a vast range of wonderful topics, including activist and scholar Angela Davis; sexual assault awareness; teaching social justice, equity, and inclusion; and biking.

Angela Davis – 1st Floor (near elevators)

Created by Dani (American & Ethnic Studies Librarian) and Maya (Reserves Technician)

“This display was put together as a tie-in to the Angela Davis campus event on May 17th. I personally have been very interested in Davis’ work and look forward to attending the event.” – Maya

Sexual Assault Awareness – 1st Floor (middle of lobby)

Created by Tami (Access Services Manager) and Zoe

Although April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), we decided to keep our SAAM display up through May because it is important that we discuss and support this topic throughout the year. The display consists of informational flyers on consent from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, relevant books and media, handouts and bookmarks that highlight campus and community resources for survivors, and a station that invites library users to create healing circles or color pages.

Teaching Social Justice, Equity, and Inclusion – 1st Floor (near entrance)

Created by Julie (Nursing Librarian) and Caitlan (Education Librarian)

“The theme of teaching social justice, equity, and inclusion is important to both of us in our work as librarians. We want to support the work of instructors that are practicing and/or interested in inclusive teaching across UW Bothell and Cascadia College. We made an effort to select titles from multiple discipline areas (including education, STEM, social sciences, health sciences, arts, writing, etc.) to reflect the variety of subjects represented on both campuses.” – Caitlan

National Bike Month – 2nd Floor (near lobby)

Created by Kathy and Eva (Circulation Student Employees)

“Initially, we wanted to go with the idea of a physical fitness theme in order to encourage children to go out and stay active by playing sports or exercising. As we did our research, we found that May was National Bike Month, so we decided to follow that path for our May Children’s Literature Display.” – Kathy

If you can, be sure to check out the May displays before the end of the month, and stay tuned for more library displays coming June 2019! I intend to post a Library Display Recap here each month, so if you’d like to receive notifications whenever our student employees post on the blog, please follow us by clicking on the “Follow” button on the bottom right of the screen.