Epistemologias Negro-Africanas em Biblioteconomia e Ciência da Informação: um olhar a partir da Teoria Crítica Racial

Abstract

This thesis aims to investigate the existence of black-African epistemologies produced by black librarians in Library and Information Science (LIS), under the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT). To this end, the specific objectives are intended to contextualize the absence of black-African epistemologies in LIS; to historicize the formation process of CRT studies, its theoretical-methodological conceptions, main actors and its interconnections with the BCI; identify and interpret the black-African epistemologies elaborated by black librarians in BCI, following the principles of CRT. To achieve the objectives, the methodological path was composed of two main dimensions that characterize and underlie this research: the epistemological dimension and the dimension of the materials, techniques and methods employed. It is, therefore, an exploratory and quali-quantitative research of a bibliographical and documental nature, which uses transformative mixed methods for research on social justice, biobibliography, and decolonial methodology, from which the sections that make up this thesis result. The theoretical foundation covers the absence of black-African knowledge in the contexts of the library, university, and professional training, followed by the section with the conceptualization of black-African epistemology, from the exploration of the trajectory and influence of western, African and black epistemology. In the subsequent section, it contextualizes the theoretical lens of CRT, initially addressing the origins of Critical Theory, to later delve into the radical academic movement that gave rise to CRT and its dimensions until presenting CRT in LIS. This research presents, as a result, the interpretations of the productions, theories, and concepts of black librarians considered in this study as critical racial theorists, given that their life trajectories and professional performance reflect in the theoretical production against the centrality of race and racism in the librarianship and informational field, considering the spheres of the library, university, and librarian training. As products, this study presents a Thematic Glossary, the bibliography of CRT in LIS and other areas of knowledge, and the biobibliographies of racial critical theoretical black librarians evidenced here.