Slowing Down Together

Reflections on Shared Practice in the Neoliberal University

Abstract

In this case study, library instruction workers at a four-year R1 university reflect on the timeline and process of creating an instruction working group and documenting a program centered on critical information literacy. The authors outline their initial approach and ensuing difficulty in incorporating elements of the ACRL Information Literacy Framework and Standards into the program. In reflecting on this process, the authors distinguish fundamental misalignments from critical information literacy within the instruction program. To help understand these misalignments in context, the study engages with literature on critical pedagogy and the impact of neoliberalism in higher education, illustrating the ways the authors struggled with entrenched ideals of individualism, the archetype of the “natural teacher,” and previously unexamined institutional practices and assumptions. This study concludes with actionable steps towards a more anti-racist, decolonial, and social justice-oriented instruction working group and program.