Artifact

• Diaspora and the Internet: A bibliography of resources on migrant use of internet technologies (806)

Often we use “life-long learning” as a synonym for professional development and continuing education. For my purposes here, however, I would like to take a step back and look at what learning has really been life long for me and how that learning has continued and expressed itself in my SLIM studies. On a very basic level I think that one of the core motivators in my quest for learning, both formal and informal, has been the desire to learn about the lives of those from different backgrounds than me. We live in a rapidly shifting socio-cultural landscape and it can be difficult to keep up with the changing reality of our world sometimes. That said, it has always been important to me to try and keep a global/multicultural perspective and to understand, at least partially, the experiences of people culturally different than me. I feel that exposure to other cultures makes my life richer and gives me a much broader sense of perspective on my own life and on the world around me. Likewise, I feel that communities with cultural diversity benefit because they force people from diverse viewpoints to interact.

This belief in the importance of cultural pluralism and interaction has fueled many aspects of my life, including my previous academic studies, my need to travel, the books I read, etc. It is definitely reflected in my work in the SLIM program, as well. I have shown examples elsewhere in this portfolio (e.g. the paper on library services to immigrants and bibliography on multilingual cataloging linked from the first outcome) but this bibliography is especially illustrative of some of the issues I have been thinking about recently with regards to cultural identity in a multicultural world. The bibliography, written for LI806: Global Information Infrastructure, investigates how technology intersects with issues of identity and culture in immigrant and refugee populations – specifically, the role of information communication technologies (ICTs) in fostering cultural cohesion among diasporic communities. As a believer in the value of cultural pluralism, I have hope that by providing a forum for cultural interaction within diasporic communities, the global information infrastructure can help these communities preserve and build their cultures and resist assimilationist pressures.

I have full faith that my thinking and about these issues will not end with my graduation and that my learning, and the actions and goals engendered by that learning, will truly be life-long.

Values

• Advocate for others by displaying a commitment to quality and equity
• Value self and others, i.e., possess confidence in one’s decisions and value diversity in its many forms.