Citation Politics

"Citation is how we acknowledge our debt to those who came before; those who helped us find our way when the way was obscured because we deviated from the paths we were told to follow. [...] I cite feminists of color who have contributed to the project of naming and dismantling the institutions of patriarchal whiteness" (Ahmed, 17).

 

Abstract: Citation politics, the complex dynamics and power structures inherent in academic referencing practices, are increasingly recognized as a crucial aspect of scholarly discourse in architecture. This one-day doctoral seminar delves into the multifaceted realm of citation politics, examining its intersections with artificial intelligence (AI), inclusion concerns, and non-orthodox materials, from conversations in the field to YouTube and TikTok videos.

Organized into three sessions, the seminar will explore diverse dimensions of citation practices:

1) Citing Machines: Focusing on the implications of AI algorithms and automation in writing, research, and citation processes. This session will discuss emerging citation protocols for Generative Artificial Intelligence, a specific AI that can learn from and mimic large amounts of data to create content from text, images, code, film, and more. This session will focus on authorship, copyrights, literacy, identification, bias, and reliability. As no current requirements are mandated for citation, we will also dive into best practices in the developing field.
Programs to be discussed will be specific to the ENAC/EDAR doctoral students - these include using popular generators like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, with a look at image generators MidJourney, DALL-E, and Adobe Firefly.

2) Citing People: Addressing inclusion, diversity, and equity issues in scholarly citation practices.
While the humanities have developed a more vigorous discourse on citational politics, the social sciences related to the built environment are lacking a critical and ethical review of citational practices. Scholarly articles often favor knowledge extraction - using citations to guard against plagiarism and to perform a sense of expertise and position within the field. These practices overlook the importance of academic citation as a method of knowledge co-production and collaboration. The built environment, at the cross-section of disciplines and media, involves many different research methods and approaches and requires a robust and healthy form of citation practices. Who and what is cited is significant in a historically exclusionary field at its foundation. This session will dive into the politics and ethics of citations and the complicated grounds of authorship. It will focus on the actors that make the built environment and the different forms recorded in academic discourse from literature review, case studies, fieldwork and observational studies, design precedents, etc.

3) Citing Materials: Investigating strategies for incorporating divergent sources and materials into academic discourse.
Often captured in standard architectural practice deliverables like zoning, state and municipal regulation, architectural drawings, and specifications, the knowledge transfer of material and building assemblages are inherently tilted towards the end product. In contrast, material knowhow, processes, and operations fall within the jurisdiction of the contractor, vendors, craftspeople, and tradespeople. Environmental citation is absent. Beyond professional practice, this session will discuss how these specific and, at times, alternative knowledge forms (workshops, demonstrators, etc.)  are transferred in the frameworks of the citation. The session will review and critically assess current practices of citations and discuss alternative forms of citation that lend themselves towards co-production and co-authorship.

Each of the three sessions will be organized as a roundtable discussion, including doctoral students, masters students, EPFL scholars and researchers, and external guests, providing a platform for critical reflection, dialogue, and collaboration on navigating the complexities of citation politics in contemporary academia. Attendees will gain insights into emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in citation practices, as well as practical strategies for engaging with AI, promoting diversity in citations, and incorporating diverse physical, audio, and visual materials into scholarly discourse.

Invited lecturers : Mathias Bernhard, Khensani de Klerk, Catalina Mejia Moreno TBC

The seminar will take place on the 19th and 20th of November.