Another Word For It Patrick Durusau on Topic Maps and Semantic Diversity

March 19, 2010

Contra Berman

Filed under: LCSH,Subject Headings — Patrick Durusau @ 8:54 pm

Sanford Berman has been a major figure in cataloging for decades. His Prejudices and Antipathies: A tract on the LC Subject Heads Concerning People might sound like a dull tract to be read by bored graduate students, but it’s not!

Published in 1971, this work criticizes Library of Congress subject headings. To give the flavor of Berman’s targets and his recommendations:

  • JEWISH QUESTION, “Remedy: Reconstructions are possible for many other inappropriate terms. Not, however, for this. It richly merits deletion.”
  • YELLOW PERIL, “Remedy: Cancel the head and ensure it does not re-appear even as a See referent to other forms.”
  • IDIOCY, IDIOT ASYLUMS, “Discard both ‘idiot’ forms completely….”

I don’t disagree with any of the changes that Berman recommends for current practice, but I do take issue with his recommendations for deletion.

Sanitizing our records will allow us to rest easy that we are beyond such categories as the “JEWISH QUESTION” or “YELLOW PERIL.” Except now we would say without any hesitation, the “MUSLIM QUESTION,” and “BROWN PERIL.” The latter when discussing immigration from Mexico on the Fox news network.

A well constructed topic map for subject headings should not hide our prior ignorance and prejudice from us. Lest we simply choose new victims in place of the old.

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