Sign in Subscribe
4 min read 11

UofWinds 433, Week 11 2026: Libraries as Epistemic Institutions, Power Mapping (Who Rules Columbia?), Parseword & Gambonanza


Good morning. I have already adjusted to daylight savings time. I woke up this morning at the time that I would normally rise so as to get to work. Everyone else in the house is still sleeping, including the cats who like to have a nap immediately after their breakfast.

Spring is a sprint. And yet I don't feel like moving and I don't feel like working. I need some escape velocity to break free of my tired routines. I think going out to see Sloan tonight will do a world of good for me.

Libraries as Epistemic Institutions


I'm starting a new research project for the purposes of a talk that I will be giving some months from now. At this stage, I'm reading widely and madly as I try to find the through-line that I believe will tie the work together. I have a hunch where it might be found but until I find that thread embedded in the fabric of the literature, I will be consumed with a low-key dread that grows just a little bit more with each day.

I realize that I that I am making the work of reading as if it is some sort of terrible chore; it is not. Over the last several of weeks I've been enjoying many thought- provoking works of librarianship, including:

Power Mapping


Ten years ago, the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives declared that the City of Windsor was the Worst City in Canada to be a woman [PDF]. In response, there was a gala opening given to a student documentary of successful women from Windsor in 2017 as well as a photography exhibition featuring Women of Windsor at the Art Gallery in 2018. Despite knowing that Windsor had the lowest level of gender parity in terms of political representation on city council and in city management positions as compared to the the rest of Canada, Windsor City Council only nominated women to 36% of its placements on community boards and agencies in 2019. I know this because I made a power map designed to demonstrate this particular facet to the public.

I was introduced to power mapping some years ago by the website theyrule.net which provides an interactive visualization that demonstrates board interlocking in the United States that you can explore yourself. This week I learned from Miriam Posner (Assistant Professor, Information Studies and Digital Humanities), that power mapping has a history from at least 1968.

Fifty-five years ago, an explosive 34-page pamphlet titled Who Rules Columbia? was published. It’s not remembered by many people today – but it should be. The pamphlet came out just weeks after the historic 1968 student uprising at Columbia University. It brought a sharp power analysis that dissected and mapped out Columbia as a member of the corporate power structure interlocked with war, racism, finance and real estate. In doing so, it offered a fresh analysis and strategic direction to the student movement at Columbia and beyond.

The above is from an article from Lil Sis –"a nonprofit public interest research organization focused on corporate and government accountability" (you need lil sis to understand the scope of Big Brother). They provide a toolkit called Map the Power.

Posner recently led her "Data, Justice, and Society" class of first-year undergrads in a power mapping class exercise and kindly shared her background slides and template. You can find other resources to help with your own Power Mapping from The Commons Library.

I'd like to get back into making these kinds of maps again, especially as I now know that power mapping has been used by climate activists to find leverage points in frozen systems of status quo. From You Can Win Bold Climate Laws in Your State:

Elizabeth When we were power mapping, we did an analysis of who has power, who moves leadership within the legislature, and who is not acting on climate. And it turns out our own Senate bill sponsor is not moving our bill past committee. So all across the state we ran seven electoral candidates specifically on climate as their key issue. That was part of our calculation: if you are not moving climate legislation, you will lose your job. After our bill’s lead sponsor was primaried and won by a plurality, by less than half, then he started moving things. We came up on PowerPoint presentations that he was giving to the rest of the Senate where BPRA was presented as priority legislation.

Parseword & Gambonanza


My son likes to periodically remind me that years ago I promised him that I would play chess with him... one day. And while I want to be a person who plays regular games of chess with my son, I still find myself deeply resistant to finding the enjoyment of learning the intricacies of chess. It feels too hard. Its more work than play.

But! I think I found my gateway drug into chess, thanks to EX Research:

“Balatro but chess” game Gambonanza lets you upgrade your pieces as you play through a variety of chess puzzles on a mini-board; the mutating board adds a dimension to the game that makes it feel fresher than other Balatro imitators, though its union of chess and gambling is unholy.

Gambonanza is "chess but roguelike." And roguelikes are my catnip.

(This is my favourite definition of game genre of roguelike: "does this game make me want to throw myself off a cliff every time I mess up and have to start from the beginning? If the answer is yes, then that’s a roguelike.")

When a playing game is too much, sometimes its worth trying just playing the mechanic of that game. For example, doing an entire cryptic crossword feels like a world of hurt to me. But I am open to trying to playing a single daily clue, which is what the designer of Worldle is inviting us to do with his new game, Parseword.

(Oh hai! Are you the the analogy I need to keep in mind as I try to find a way out of my winter doldrums? Hmm.)

Member discussion