Political Education Program
Foundations Course
LIBRARIES, INFORMATION, EMPIRE: A Political Education Course
August 2026
Fridays, 90 minutes
3-4:30 EDT/12-1:30 PT
August 7, 14, 21, 28
2026
This course will focus on the history and political economy of libraries, librarianship, and library workers within the U.S. imperial apparatus. Grounding ourselves in close reading and collective study of librarianship histories, this course will bring participants together to create language and understanding of the conditions and contexts in which we find ourselves in our lives and work. We believe this is essential to gaining clarity about what is happening today, in a present with deep material and psychological repercussions from the ongoing material and psychic warfare of the carceral, capitalistic, imperialist state. Through this framework, we will explore the lies our MLIS teachers have told us and look at how librarianship, empire, and information have been cornerstones of U.S. warfare.
We see this as the first offering of what we envision to be a sustained and growing educational project within PLG, one that will flow into ongoing reading groups, collective knowledge production, and the broader intellectual and political life of the guild. We hope to develop the political consciousness and analytical tools necessary to act on the understanding that emerges through shared study.
You do not need to already be a member of PLG in order to participate, but we hope folks will join. For more information about membership, please see the Join page.
To express interest in participating, please take a moment to complete this form by June 19. We will be in touch at the end of the month with more details.
