Moving Beyond Metaphor

The decolonization of LIS can no longer be metaphorical. We know what must be done, now we must make it real: How do we move beyond metaphor? To honor the scholars doing this work before us, we recommit to their call to get our community #InFormation. This paper revisits assumptions around (neo)coloniality and comm(unity) to identify (non)metaphorical onto-epistemic injustices in LIS which destroy our ability to know and become (Patin et al., 2024). We articulate two practices to guide our transition toward critical praxis. Grounded by compassion, accountability, relationality, and empathy, Responsibilities of Resistance involves perceiving systemic conditions of erasure, giving intentional descriptions of actions, coordinating responses, and engaging in empathetic solidarity. Mentoring in the Round is a pedagogy of protection which emphasizes several benefits of a collective peer group. We diverge from prior work by ending with a demand for action: we are beyond the point of rhetorical plea.