Cultivating a Conscientious Citation Practice

I absolutely love citations. There is something beautiful about a perfectly formatted bibliography that just makes my heart sing. But aside from their aesthetic value, citations have tremendous transformative potential when it comes to academia, education, and the sharing of knowledge. So, in today’s blog post, I want to talk about why this is the case, and how you can maximize the potential of citations in your classroom.

This blog post was inspired by a recent Facebook post by the talented and lovely Joanna L. Pearce, which I will include below. While I was writing this blog post, I also happened to mention my plan to Krista McCracken, who was already planning to do a podcast episode on the same subject (in case you needed more evidence that our minds are psychically synced). So while I will be talking about citations in terms of education today, Krista will be speaking about citations and research; definitely make sure you check out that podcast episode.

The Power and Politics of Citations

When most of us think about citations in the classroom, we think about student papers and plagiarism. Many of us teach students that is important to cite your sources because it is important to acknowledge the work of others. And some of us emphasize the importance of citational styles as a means for communication information about our sources (what type, where they are located, etc…). And usually that’s about it. We rarely stop to think about how we use citations and source in classrooms, and what this communicates to our students.

That’s because, as critical feminist and anti-racist scholars have demonstrated, citations have power. As many other have noticed, the foundational text on citational practices and power is Sara Ahmed’s blog post, “Making Feminist Points.” In it, she describes citations a “as a rather successful reproductive technology, a way of reproducing the world around certain bodies.” To put this another way, citation is a political practice that academic disciplines used to establish and uphold legitimacy and authority. Regardless of field, this authority tends to attach itself overwhelming to white, male scholars.

One of the most important sites for the creation of this legitimacy and authority are course syllabuses. When we design syllabuses, we often begin with foundational texts and scholars, who again, are almost always white men. For example, a recent survey of syllabuses from 2018 in the department of Political Science at McGill university found that out of the 300 authors listed, 86% where white and 75% were male. While there haven’t been any comprehensive studies on citational practices and syllabuses in the field of Canadian history, there are still worrying signs. I would again point to Elise Chenier, Lori Chambers, and Anne Frances Toews’s piece, “Still Working in the Shadow of Men? An Analysis of Sex Distribution in Publications and Prizes in Canadian History,” which shows conclusively that there is a bias against women and women/gender/feminist history in both publications and prizes. When we consider that many comps lists are drawn directly from CHA prize lists, and that these lists are instrumental in the development of syllabuses, we can see how inequality is reproduced within our own field.

Some people argue that certain authors and texts are classics from the field, and should continue to be cited. However, these individuals rarely stop to consider why this is the case. As Victor Ray notes, “what counts as canonical is shaped by who had access to existing knowledge and the tools and the institutional resources to produce new knowledge.” What’s more, these individuals also fail to consider that canon is neither natural nor inevitable, but the result of conscious decisions by academics.

And these decisions have wide-ranging implications for both our students and the wider world. Syllabuses that are overwhelming dominated by white and male scholars sends a message about which individuals we see as authoritative, whose voices we centre, and whose expertise is recognized. This contributes to the ongoing racial and gendered bias against scholars and experts who are not white or male. What’s more, these practices alienate students who don’t fit into these categories, and makes them feel as if their experiences and voices have no place in academia. And finally, when we continue to cite these same sources over and over again, we reinforce these texts and authors as part of our “canon,” and therefore reproduce and institutionalize inequality within the academy.

There are more wide-ranging implications for scholars as well. Citational practices, including those on syllabuses, have real-life impacts on the career trajectories of scholars. Frequency of citation is often used to measure relevance and importance, and therefore is often considered for hiring, promotion, tenure, and other performance evaluations. For example, many scholars, even in the humanities and social sciences, are judged on the basis of how frequently they are cited, something which is now called an h-index. Increasingly journal articles are posting metrics on individual journal issues and articles about citation frequency. So when we continue to cite the same canonical authors and texts over and over again, we again contribute to the ongoing dominance of white male scholars in our fields, invest them with more authority, and silence the voices of academics from marginalized groups.

Conscientious Citations in The Classroom

However, just as citational practices have the potential to reinforce power structures, they also have tremendous potential to undo them. In their article, “Citation matters: mobilizing the politics of citation toward a practice of ‘conscientious engagement,’” Carrie Mott and Daniel Cockayne argue for that they call “conscientious engagement” with citations, being mindful of their impact. This conscientious engagement, or what I’m calling conscientious citational practices, require us to make careful and mindful choices about whose voices we choose to highlight and promote. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t cite important scholars in our fields if they happen to be white or male. Rather, conscientious citational practices encourage us to cite people because they have good ideas, rather than because they have status. It encourages us to think carefully about traditional academic hierarchies and work to cultivate a more diverse and inclusive discipline. Finally, I would refer back to the blog post Krista and I wrote earlier in the year on the celebration of women and non-binary academics.I won’t repeat myself too much here, but I would like to refer to Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow’s practice, “Shine Theory,” or the practice of celebrating each other’s work as a way of uplifting us all. Conscientious citations or a critical citation practice operates in much the same way.

When we bring conscientious citational practices in the classroom, we also help to create more diverse and inclusive classrooms. We can show all students that their voices matter, and that diversity is a strength rather than a bonus. Conscientious citational  practices can foster the creation of safer and braver spaces. They can also provide opportunities for your students to learn about, and respect, multiple perspectives and different backgrounds.  As Sasha Turner noted, quoting Sadiah Qureshi, “what if in addition to requiring students read white (predominantly male) theorists—canonized as universal truth tellers—like “Tacitus, Herodotus, Max Weber, Karl Marx, Michel Foucault, Antonio Gramsci, Jacques Derrida and, more rarely, Judith Butler,” we also require that students critically engage the works of “Audre Lorde, Stuart Hall, Frantz Fanon, Jasbir Puar, Sara Ahmed, Kim TallBear or Kimberlé Crenshaw?”” We can even dream bigger. In her podcast episode on the subject of citational politics, Hannah McGregor asks: what would happen if our fields were entirely reorientated? What if we didn’t just talk about scholars from marginalized groups in relation to white, male scholars, but rather centred their voices in our work? What would this look like?

What’s more, conscientious citational practices the classroom can extend far beyond the syllabus. For example, what would happen if we considered all of our classroom documents and activities as scholarly work, and cited our sources?   As Julie Glass explains in a piece entitled “Modeling Scholarly Practice Using Your Syllabus, “doing so demonstrates to students that teaching IS scholarly, provides them with examples of how to use citations, and models scholarly practice starting with the very first day of class.” When we practice deliberate and intentional citations in all aspects of our teaching work, we acknowledge and teach students that the production of knowledge is a conversation and that scholarship is fundamentally about relationships, and that it is important to give credit where credit is due.

Conscientious citational practices in the classroom also allow us to disrupt hierarchical structures beyond the classroom. I am thinking here specifically of the work being done by the Cite Black Women Collective, who work to “reconfigure the politics of knowledge production by engaging in a radical praxis of citation that acknowledges and honours Black women’s transnational intellectual production.”  For example, in the same podcast episode, McGregor mentions a conversation she had with Jessica Marie Johnson about journalists stealing ideas from her tweets and consistently fail to credit her as a co-author. This reflects the fact that Black women are still not treated and credited as experts.  But when we practice conscientious citational practices in a broad and comprehensive manner, we have the power to change this.

What You Can Do to Cultivate a Conscientious Citational Practice

Here is the Facebook post by the brilliant Joanna L. Pearce that I mentioned above, on creating a classroom culture that acknowledges the work done by others, that originally inspired this blog post. It is reproduced here with her permission.

The very first thing I start doing with students immediately in tutorial is every time I refer to something a student said, or refer to something specifically said in lecture, I will verbally “cite” it by saying “As Chris said earlier, ‘blah blah blah’.” I’m trying to create a culture within the classroom where we acknowledge each other’s contributions BY NAME. (So I won’t let them get away with “As he said” with gesturing at someone.)

After a few weeks of this, I specifically point out to students that I’m doing it. I want them to notice that we’re acknowledging each other’s contributions to the class discussion (BY NAME) as part of thinking about how knowledge and understanding builds on what we’re all doing. Let’s make it very clear to them how this works in the classroom, so it’s easier to get them to do it in the essay writing.

I also make a point of using citations on my ppt slides (if I use ppt slides in tutorial or lecture) and including a “Bibliography” on my ppt slides. This is again trying to create the understanding that I’m using other sources to build my lecture/tutorial material. (This also helps get away from “cite the lecture” in essays or on exams – I provided my sources! If you want to use them, use them!)

As the term progresses, I start looking at the secondary sources we’re using in class. Let’s look together at WHERE the author is citing things. I try to use examples that are similar to how I want students to cite in class. I get where folks are coming from when using bad examples, but I like to use good ones instead. I have students look at citations and both see where/when something is cited, and then look at the citation itself and see what information is included.

Other Things You Can Do:

1. When you are lecturing, talk about the research that specific scholars are doing. This one comes from my husband, who has been doing this for years. For instance, when he lectures on a specific topic, he names specific scholars who have contributed to the field, and explains their arguments. This helps student to understand that knowledge is not created in a vacuum.
2. Instead of using classic textbooks, assign journal articles and chapters from monographs and edited collections instead. Not only are these pieces (often) more interesting to read (and more likely to get read!), but they can expose your students to a range of perspectives and voices. If you need some information on where to start, these are some fantastic resources:
   • Cite Black Women Crowdsourced Syllabus
   • Reconciliation Syllabus
   • An Immigration Syllabus (Canadian)
   • The Black Canadian Lives Syllabus
   • #WomenAlsoKnowStuff
   • Decolonize Your Syllabus
   • Trans* Studies in Higher Education
   • Trans Justice Syllabus
3. Along the same lines: fully integrate research by scholars from marginalized groups into your syllabus and your lectures.
4. Check out Eve Tuck (Unangax), K. Wayne Yang, and Rubén Gaztambide-Fernández’s Citational Practices Challenge.
5. See if your syllabus and/or publications pass the Gray Test, developed by Wendy Laura Belcherand named after Kishonna Gray (who invited the hashtag #citeherwork). To pass the test, a syllabus or article 1) must cite the scholarship of at least two women and two non-white people and 2) must discuss these works in the body of the text. (And thanks to Raul Pachego-Vega for letting me know about this awesome test!)
   1. You can also ask that students ensure that their sources and/or essays pass the Gray test as well!
6. Cite downwards. A.K.A. Cite new and upcoming scholars, especially if they are precarious academics.
7. Teach your students about the importance of footnotes and endnotes.
   1. I personally love Roxanne Panchasi’ piece, “Cite Specific: Analyzing Endnotes to Teach Historical Methods”and the Xtreme Endnotes exercise, and have used it many times. Panchasi printed copies of notes for her students, I do them digitally.
   2. I’ve also used the apocryphal Van Halen’s Brown M&M explanation to explain to students why fine details like properly formatted citations are important. They are the canaries in the coal mine. (Ok, I will stop with the metaphors now).
8. As an assignment, ask your students to go out and find articles on a specific topic written by scholars from a marginalized group.
9. Include a “works cited” page in your syllabus, documenting the articles about teaching and learning that have influenced your approach to education.
10. When you cite authors in your syllabus, use their full names.
    1. Ensuring that you use full names in your citations means that in the event that your material ends up online, it will show up when someone searches for the scholar’s name. Tina Adcock is the person who noticed that this was a good way for scholars to demonstrate scholarly impact in the preparation of dossiers for hiring and promotion.
11. Learn about and practice Indigenous citation styles. I like Elements of Indigenous Style: A Guide for Writing By and About Indigenous Peoples, by Gregory Youngin ( who sadly passed away last week).
12. Talk about what you and others can do to change an academic culture that silences the voices of folks from marginalized groups.
13. Instead of asking your students to submit a bibliography, have them submit a bibliographic essay. I really liked would encourage you and then to read the bibliographical essay “Citational Relations,” in Daniel Heath Justice’s Why Indigenous Literatures Matter.  Here is what he says:

Citations and broader references have been included as a bibliographic essay to allow for easier reading of the main body, with last names of those authors cited directly highlighted in bold. I also wanted the bibliography not to be merely a list of sources, but a conversation about the embraided influences of words, ideas, and voices on the topics at hand. No scholar comes to these ideas and this work without being part of a much broader community, and I’ve been very blessed to have been deeply transformed by the good work of others. This essay, of course, can’t possibly address every person and every work that has impacted this volume, but these are, I hope, a good sample of the works that made my book possible. [3]

One final quick note: McGregory also mentions the challenge that the ephemeral and transient nature of these platforms presents with respect to citational practices. While we can be exposed to a wide variety of ideas, without a careful citational practice, it can be difficult to track down, and give credit to, these sources later on. This is an increasingly common problem on public platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, particularly for folks who are Black, Indigenous, and non-Black People of Colour.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s blog post! If you did, please consider sharing it on the social media platform of your choice. And don’t forget to check back on Sunday for a brand new Canadian history roundup! See you then!

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