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A Latcrit Case Study of Intellectual Freedom University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations August 2019 “This Has Never Really Been About Books”: A Latcrit Case Study of Intellectual Freedom Adriana Marie McCleer University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Ethnic Studies Commons, and the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation McCleer, Adriana Marie, "“This Has Never Really Been About Books”: A Latcrit Case Study of Intellectual Freedom" (2019). Theses and Dissertations. 2225. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2225 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “THIS HAS NEVER REALLY BEEN ABOUT BOOKS”: A LATCRIT CASE STUDY OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM by Adriana McCleer A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Studies at The University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee August 2019 ABSTRACT “THIS HAS NEVER REALLY BEEN ABOUT BOOKS”: A LATCRIT CASE STUDY OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM by Adriana McCleer The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2019 Under the Supervision of Professor Joyce M. Latham, Ph.D. This dissertation critically examines historical and contemporary traditions and practices at an intersection of Library and Information Studies (LIS) and K-12 education to identify barriers and limitations to intellectual freedom related to race and ethnicity. It presents a qualitative case study, first documenting the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Mexican American Studies (MAS) program, a public K-12 ethnic studies program in Tucson, Arizona between 1998 and 2012. Next, it details actions that led to the dismantling of the program, including Arizona officials designing and passing two laws that put financial pressure on the district to end the MAS program in 2012. Finally, it explains the local, state, and national LIS communities’ engagement with the program and their responses to the district removing books from classrooms and ending the MAS program through 2014. Research data includes interviews of MAS teachers, students, Tucson community members, and LIS professionals; and historical and contemporary documents related to the case (e.g., news items, press releases, legal documents, statements and resolutions). Latinx Critical Race (LatCrit) theory, a theoretical framework that reveals embedded and normalized discrimination based on Latinx identity and experiences (e.g., race, ethnicity, language, nationality, citizenship), was applied through document analysis. This dissertation reveals limitations of the LIS concept of intellectual freedom and related professional practices, specifically related to race and ethnicity. ii Keywords: Intellectual Freedom, Tucson, Mexican American Studies, Ethnic Studies, Multicultural Studies, LatCrit, Critical Race Theory, Race, Ethnicity, Social Justice iii © Copyright by Adriana McCleer, 2019 All Rights Reserved iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... x 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research questions ........................................................................................................ 4 1.2 Key terms and definitions ............................................................................................. 4 1.3 Research design ............................................................................................................ 7 1.4 Dissertation structure .................................................................................................... 9 1.5 Background ................................................................................................................. 10 1.5.1 Tucson, Arizona ........................................................................................... 10 1.5.2 Tucson Latinx librarianship ......................................................................... 14 1.5.3 Tucson public schools .................................................................................. 15 1.5.4 Multicultural education and ethnic studies .................................................. 25 1.5.5 The journey to Mexican American Studies (MAS) ..................................... 29 1.5.6 Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) MAS ............................................ 33 1.5.7 Scrutiny of TUSD MAS ............................................................................... 39 1.5.8 Legal battles around TUSD MAS ................................................................ 44 2.0 Literature Review .............................................................................................................. 50 2.1 Race and racism in the United States .......................................................................... 50 2.1.1 Racialized subordination and domination .................................................... 52 2.1.2 Whiteness and white privilege ..................................................................... 53 2.1.3 Race and racism in Library & Information Science (LIS) ........................... 55 2.2 Intellectual freedom .................................................................................................... 61 2.2.1 Foundations of intellectual freedom ............................................................ 61 2.2.2 Operations of intellectual freedom in LIS ................................................... 66 2.2.3 Intellectual freedom as a human right .......................................................... 73 2.2.4 Limitations of intellectual freedom .............................................................. 75 2.3 Social justice .............................................................................................................. 77 2.3.1 Foundations of social justice ........................................................................ 77 2.3.2 Social justice in LIS ..................................................................................... 79 2.4 Critical race theory ...................................................................................................... 81 2.4.1 Branches of critical race theory ................................................................... 83 2.4.2 Latinx critical race (LatCrit) theory ............................................................. 83 2.4.3 Applications of LatCrit theory ..................................................................... 87 2.4.4 Critical race theory in LIS ............................................................................ 89 2.5 TUSD MAS ................................................................................................................ 93 2.6 Research Gap .............................................................................................................. 96 3.0 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 97 3.1 Study design ................................................................................................................ 97 3.2 LatCrit theoretical framework ..................................................................................... 97 3.3 Qualitative case study approach .................................................................................. 99 3.4 Conceptual foundation for the case study ................................................................. 100 v 3.5 Procedures ................................................................................................................. 101 3.6 Data collection .......................................................................................................... 101 3.6.1 Institutional review board .......................................................................... 104 3.6.2 Interviews ................................................................................................... 105 3.6.3 Document selection .................................................................................... 107 3.7 Coding and analysis .................................................................................................. 108 3.8 Design limitations ..................................................................................................... 111 4.0 Research Findings ........................................................................................................... 111 4.1 Tucson’s traditions and practices limiting intellectual freedom ............................... 112 4.1.1 Racialized education in Tucson ................................................................. 112 4.1.2 Systemic racism in Tucson ........................................................................ 115 4.2 Latinx librarians engaged with Tucson community and TUSD MAS ...................... 116 4.3 MAS case
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