This panel will present several research efforts that sit at the intellectual convergence of
post-colonial studies and information studies. Post-colonial studies provide a theoretical
leveraging ground from which to consider themes of hybridity, multiplicity,
globalization, transnationality, and alterity in relation to power and informational
phenomena. From this view, efforts to bring together post-colonial perspectives to
information studies encourage us to examine the historically contingent processes of the
design, implementation, and use of information in global and multi-cultural contexts. As
such, a post-colonial perspective can provide a lens from which to look at the way
information and its artefacts travel and the implications for such migrations. However,
these efforts are still nascent. This panel will be a collective opportunity to discuss the
possible contours and boundaries of such an intellectual endeavor. As such, the panel will
discuss some of the following questions:
??? What is the relevance of postcolonial approach to information studies?
??? What would and could a post-colonial information studies look like?
??? What are the theoretical assumptions, opportunities, and limitations of a postcolonial
information studies approach?
??? What kinds of new research questions can be explored within a post-colonial
information studies framework?
??? What kinds of new locations and sites of inquiry emerge within this framework?
??? What ethics and values guide a post-colonial information studies approach
