It seems that every other day or week or so while cruising our social media feeds, we see that the current date is now dubbed the ‘International Day of [insert celebration]‘.  Have you ever stopped to wonder why these days exist? While gathering information ahead of July 30th’s International Day of Friendship, I came across an explanation through the United Nations (UN) “International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of…

With summer in full swing, many of us are taking time to explore our hobbies and interests, or we are digging deeper into the things we are studying. With the library stacks still closed, let me take you all on a short browse through the stacks to explore some books about Art. I at first felt a bit intimidated on how to approach such a wide and impactful topic. The word ‘art’…

This post was written by Amanda Wakaruk, University of Alberta Library’s Copyright and Scholarly Communications Librarian and co-editor of the Hugo Book Club Blog (2021 Hugo Award nominee for best fanzine). Science fiction (SF) helps us reflect on and improve our understanding of the power and role of scientific discoveries and technological innovation in society — current, past, and speculative. It can also be a lot of fun to read, with stories…

Grace Dillon coined the term, Indigenous Futurism, a nod to Afrofuturism, to describe work that is centred around Indigenous people and features their ancient knowledge in a futuristic setting. “All forms of Indigenous futurisms are narratives of biskaabiiyang, an Anishinaabemowin word connoting the process of ‘returning to ourselves,’ which involves discovering how personally one is affected by colonization, discarding the emotional and psychological baggage carried from its impact, and recovering ancestral traditions…