Filling the Gap – Online Professional Development Library Module

INTRODUCTION

What is ‘Filling the Gap: Facing Caste – Engaging with the privileged’ project about? 

Facing Caste—Engaging with the Privileged was a year-long research project supported by TESF, India, undertaken by Sujata Noronha and Beena Choksi. The research explored how to prepare for discussions on caste with children in the library through a participatory process with other library educators in the country. 

A revelation to all of us in the project, irrespective of caste locations, was the void in our knowledge of anti-caste activists, beyond very few and gaps in knowing significant events in the subaltern space of anti-caste movements. 

“As centers of learning, schools are as much about what they don’t formally teach, as what they do.”*

Historical narratives foreground dominant voices and push into the background or altogether bury the voices and actions of people, who challenged the status quo. The politics of memory comes into play; we learn to remember and celebrate what we are taught to remember and celebrate. 

For instance, most school- going children associate the word satyagraha with the country’s fight for freedom from foreign oppression and almost exclusively with Gandhi; Ambedkar’s Mahad satyagraha for freedom from homegrown caste- oppression is likely to be met with a lukewarm response, if not a blank look.

We made a decision to honour this gap and chose to work with Siddhesh Gautam, an Ambedkerite artist, designer & scholar to design and present a ubiquitous (timeless) calendar as a learning resource for sharing across library communities and educational spaces. 

Our intention is to make visible what our curriculum, text books, and ‘mainstream’ literature do not. The purpose is to put the spotlight on indigenous figures and landmark events for memory keeping and to give recognition to the lives and path-breaking work of anti-caste activists. 

* Naraharisetty, R. (2021). Casteism still thrives in elite schools in India. What would anti-caste education look like? The Swaddle.

We have designed a year-long online professional development module, which is open to library educators / organisations that are comfortable with the idea of radical library practice. We invite you to apply, and join us on this journey.

How is the module structured?  

• One online session every month for discussion, planning, debriefing and solidarity
• One core text – the anti-caste calendar
• Multiple books, poems, articles, media links, resources, and more, shared monthly
• Calendar-linked ideas and plans shared every quarter
• One-on-one mentoring session with lead facilitator

We are also open to quarterly sign-ups, if you are unsure whether this module is right for you..

Eligibility

Participation is open to library educators / organisations that are comfortable with the idea of radical library practice. 

Context

“Radical”, is from a Latin word that means “going to the origin”. A radical standpoint/ analysis is one that goes to the root, that looks below the surface. Intellectually, everyone should strive to be radical, no matter what political positions we take. We should always be trying to understand systems—how underlying ideologies and institutional structures shape our world. For more, read Angela Davies.

As a radical standpoint, perspective, position, “the politics of location” necessarily calls those of us who would participate in the formation of counter-hegemonic cultural practice to identify the spaces where we begin the process of revision… Spaces can be real and imagined. Spaces can tell stories and unfold histories. Spaces can be interrupted, appropriated and transformed through artistic and literary practice. ——bell hooks

Programme details

Dates: January to December 2025 

Cost**

Annual: 10,000/-

Quarterly: 4,000/-

**We encourage you to apply even if you require a concession. Please note the details in the application form.

Payment details

Sign up

Fill in the application form to confirm your participation. Course fees once paid will not be refunded. 

NEFT Details

HDFC Bank Account  : 50100298353962

Account Name  : BOOKWORM

IFSC Code  : HDFC0002368

Branch  : Taleigao, Goa, 403003

UPI / QR Code

Application form

After you have made the payment, please click here to fill the form and share your confirmation details. 

For any queries, write to us at mail@bookwormgoa.in or call us on +91 9823222665 (Monday – Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM)

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