Library Subject Guides
See Yourself on the Shelf
Two years on from the explosion of the Black Lives Matter movement into the British public consciousness, how can we continue to ensure our academic work is underpinned by anti-racist thought? It's a big question, but this reading list offers a place to start in answering it. Here, you'll find books, articles and videos by Black authors to challenge the way you think about academia.
Using library resources, I’ll be curating a toolkit to help students take an informed, anti-racist approach to university level reading and research.
Hello! I'm Celia, a final year history student from Leeds.
In September 2020, I moved to the States to study abroad for a year. Arriving a few short months after George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis, I was struck by the efforts of university students and staff to weave anti-racist theory into every aspect of their academic study. Alongside my degree, I spent the year learning about anti-racist theory and practice in an American context.
While some of the texts on this reading list come from this American context, many others deal with racial issues specific to the UK. I hope they go a little way to building an anti-racist academic framework at York.
Understanding the difference between being 'non' and 'anti' racism is an important first step in taking action. In this video, Jamaican author Marlon James highlights how it's no longer enough to be 'non-racist'.
Visit the See Yourself on the Shelf page to find out more about our student library curator work.
If you have any questions regarding Challenging Perceptions please contact the library at lib-enquiry@york.ac.uk
'See Yourself on the Shelf' used with permission from the University of Kent.
The reading list below is available to anyone, but please note that links to e-resources are only available to students and staff at the University of York. You can also access the list on a separate webpage.
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Becoming anti-racist takes an active and conscious effort from us all.
To access further resources and view the University of York's anti-racism statement, click here.
To read more about the Black Lives Matter movement, check out this reading list curated in June 2020.