Between Neoliberalism and Identity Politics: Academic Librarianship, Democracy and November 8, 2016

Recent calls for papers (CFPs) in academic librarianship have drawn heavily on the language of identity politics. This presents a number of problems: 1) the confusions between identity politics and its close allies like diversity or professional identity; 2) the confusions within identity politics; 3) the backlash to identity politics represented by November 8, 2016; and 4) controversies over the concept within its allies - personified by Mark Lilla. This paper seeks to chart a path among these ideas to formulate a practical political response to these developments.