The Authority File Round-Up: July 2023

A quick overview of last month's episodes, in case you missed them

Posted on August 10, 2023 in Blog

Our first series explored the intersections between race, gender, and performance, taking an in-depth look at Naila Keleta-Mae’s title, Performing Female Blackness. Naila, a multidisciplinary artist and Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo, discussed what it means to be both an artist and an academic and shared an expansive definition of performance that goes beyond entertainment. Naila explained how Black women are expected to perform in private and public spaces and why she drew on various mediums including poetry and song compositions when writing her book. Naila closed by detailing her research project Black & Free, which focuses on Black culture and art.

Next up, we examined the history of the Iroquois du Nord, a series of Haudenosaunee settlements on the north shore of Lake Ontario in the 17th century. Our guest, co-editor of The History and Archaeology of the Iroquois du Nord and archaeological and cultural heritage consultant Ron Williamson, shared the characteristics and historical context of the Haudenosaunee and their settlements during the 1600s. This series considered the lack of published material on the archaeology of the sites and the book’s publication as part of the Mercury Series, a partnership between the University of Ottawa Press and the Canadian Museum of History.

Here’s a quick round-up of the episodes, in case you missed them. We hope you find the conversations informative, fascinating, and beneficial. Thanks for listening!

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Performing Female Blackness

Naila Keleta-Mae, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo, joined TAF to provide background on her title, Performing Female Blackness. Naila detailed her research in Black theater, performance, and gender, and the risks of including personal history within one’s scholarship. Naila also covered the concept of translucency, her research project Black & Free, and the complexity of having autonomy as a performer. Brought to you by Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

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The History and Archaeology of the Iroquois du Nord

In our second series, Ron Williamson, Founder and Senior Associate of Archaeological Services Inc., discussed his co-edited title, The History and Archaeology of the Iroquois du Nord. Ron provided historical context to the sites of the Iroquois du Nord, a 17th-century series of Haudenosaunee settlements on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and explained how the book came together. Additionally, Ron underscored the complexities of land acknowledgements, clarified the concept of border theory, and considered the diplomatic strategies the Haudenosaunee employed during the 1600s. Brought to you by the University of Ottawa Press.

Listen to episode one: Introduction to the Book and the Mystery
Listen to episode two: Diving into Published Material, Site Locations, and Land Acknowledgements
Listen to episode three: Historical Context for the Haudenosaunee and Europeans
Listen to episode four: Artifacts, Border Theory, and Future Research

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Missed June’s episodes? We’ve got you covered.

First up, we examined the librarian’s role in scholarly communication. Our speaker highlighted the value of aligning library and institutional goals and praised librarians for their adaptability in the face of the pandemic and growing influence of AI. Our guest also shared how vendors’ promotional strategies have evolved, the ways librarians can aid researchers in finding open access options and communicating their findings to a lay audience, and current AI tools worth employing in the library. You can listen to the series here.

Focusing on open access (OA), our second series brought together librarian and publisher perspectives on how to best support open resource adoption. Our guests underlined key benefits of OA, including faster dissemination of research and broader access, along with the challenges of securing funding for OA publications. The speakers also looked at the impact of the OSTP’s Nelson Memo, ChatGPT’s influence on research integrity, and the importance of leveling the playing field for humanities and social sciences research by furthering open monograph publishing. Listen to the first episode here.

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What’s Coming Up in August

We have two thought-provoking series this month. APA Style experts join the program in our first series, talking through their roles at the APA and updates to the seventh edition of the Publication Manual. Our guests describe principles of references and common myths about citations. They also explain how to cite unique sources like ChatGPT, the development of the bias-free language guidelines, and the process of updating publishing standards and collecting reader feedback. Listen to the first episode here.

In our next series, we learn more about the development of AM’s First Folios Compared, an open access project on the first collection of Shakespeare’s plays. Our speakers share how the project brings together First Folio copies in partnership with archives around the globe and AM’s aims to garner users from both inside and outside of academia. Our guests further dive into the Quartex platform behind the project, explaining the site’s unique comparison tool and how the metadata was created. They also provide fascinating insights into the differences between each folio, including various ink colors, illustrations, and annotations. You can listen to the first episode here.

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You can find more episodes of the Authority File here on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening! See you next month.

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