UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF
INFORMATION SCIENCES
Fall 2008
LIS 3000 Introduction
to the Doctoral Program
Instructor:
Richard J. Cox, Professor
Office Number and Telephone: SIS 614; 412 624-3245
Office
Hours: By appointment or anytime by e-mail
E-mail:
rjcox111@comcast.net
Homepage:
http://www2.sis.pitt.edu/~rcox
Class Sessions: Tuesdays,
12-2:50 PM
Course Objectives
Purposes of This Course. The
official description of this course reads as follows: “An introduction to the
requirements for the Ph.D. degree in the . . . Library and Information Science
[program] and to the broader social and academic context of doctoral studies:
its history and traditions, social role, methodologies, and outcomes of
doctoral scholarship in library and information science.” This course seeks to accomplish these aims by
immersing students into the history and culture of higher education, the
context for the development of library and information science education.
Besides orienting students to the
doctoral program, the purposes of this course are fourfold:
First, the course will introduce
doctoral students to the nature, history,
and purpose of higher education, with a focus on the American university
system. The course will have students consider the idea of the university,
the role of faculty, the place of professional schools in higher education, the
debate about the nature of the modern university, the responsibilities of
faculty (scholarship, reading, teaching, writing, and publishing), and
challenges to the university’s historic mission as played out by new
limitations on intellectual property and free speech. Each week students
will be responsible for reading the assigned book and participating in an
in-depth class discussion about the book.
Each week a student will be expected to lead a discussion about a
particular book and theme. As well, a
blog will be run as part of the course to enable continuing discussion of the
various themes of the course as outlined in the syllabus. It is expected that doctoral students will
contribute postings to the blog on a weekly basis. In addition, students in the seminar are
expected to read the blog, “What SIS Faculty Are Reading,” providing an
orientation to the divergent interests of the faculty in this school.
Second, students will learn about critical issues confronting Schools of
Library and Information Science or I-Schools by working on assigned
research projects focusing on different aspects of these schools and regularly
reporting on progress made on their papers during class sessions. A working bibliography of articles, books,
and reports on the history and nature of library and information science will
be provided to each student as a starting point. Students will be expected to mine these
readings and to contribute to a bibliographic essay, to be mounted on the Web
for future use by doctoral students and in future versions of this course, as
part of their working on individual papers on different aspects of the nature
of this professional education; part of the assignment will be to identify a
small, core group of readings to be used in subsequent offerings of this
seminar. These activities will provide
doctoral students a foundation for understanding both the nature of these
schools as well as the research being conducted about the education of
librarians, archivists, and other information professionals.
Third, the course will provide a framework for enabling doctoral students to consider their own interests in and aspirations for academic teaching and research careers. Although not every LIS doctoral student is interested in preparing for an academic career, many will still participate in teaching as adjuncts, serving as mentors to and supervisors of LIS students at both the masters and doctoral levels, and working as collaborators with LIS faculty on research projects. As a consequence, doctoral students need to acquire a full sense of these professional schools in the university. Doctoral students completing this course will have a firm foundation in the nature of professional education in the university, some understanding of the changing nature of library and information science (such as the I-School movement), and the issues and challenges being faced by higher education today. This course should assist students to explore their own interests in preparing to assume faculty positions in the university, acquiring a better sense of what professional schools and their faculty members do.
Fourth, doctoral students will be oriented to the specific requirements of the Library and Information Science doctoral program in this school. The instructor will review, at appropriate times during the course, the requirements and benchmarks of the doctoral program. The aim is to discuss doctoral program requirements in the context of the nature of higher education and that of professional education in the modern university. Students taking this seminar also will have the opportunity to meet with some members of the LIS faculty who will be addressing various aspects of doctoral education and the roles of faculty in a professional school.
Course Requirements
Doctoral students taking this course
will be required to prepare a research paper, contribute to an annotated
bibliography on the history and nature of library and information science, read
and contribute to a blog on the nature of higher education administered by the
seminar instructor, follow the discussions on the SIS faculty blog, lead a
class discussion on a particular book assigned for one of the course sessions,
regularly read the weekly Chronicle of
Higher Education, and attend all seminar course meetings. If scheduled, students also will be required
to attend the colloquia delivered by candidates for two
open faculty positions at the School of Information Sciences. Each of these responsibilities is described
in greater detail below.
Research Position Paper. The
doctoral student's primary obligation for this course is to prepare an essay,
with potential for publication, related to some aspect of LIS education, drawing
upon the historical and current literature of the field. Ideally, the paper should build upon some
area of the doctoral student’s own career goals or research interests or chart
out a research agenda regarding some aspect of LIS education. In effect, this paper is intended to be
equivalent to the literature review that is normally part of a research study,
including a dissertation, although in this case the intention is to build a
bibliographic review of professional education in library and information
science that can be used as a foundation for future research and teaching in
our LIS program, as well as shared with the broader profession. The instructor will provide a background
sheet on writing critical bibliographical essays.
The focus of this course allows the
student to examine any topic related to the role, debate about the role of, and
other controversies and challenges facing the education of library and
information professionals. Students should select a topic of interest to them
or that supports the preparation of a dissertation proposal or the dissertation
itself (depending on how far along they are in the doctoral program). Students
should select a topic in which there is an ample array of available resources
for completing a study or a topic within the term that this course is being
offered. As a class we will
systematically work our way through a set of important writings on LIS
education (see below). However, it is
expected that students will go beyond this literature, considering relevant
research studies in other disciplines, examining LIS schools Web sites and
other Web-based resources, and, as necessary, interviewing other LIS faculty
here and at other schools.
Below is a suggested list of paper
topics for doctoral students to conduct some research in about the state of LIS
education. These topics (additional
topics may be identified by the instructor at the start of this course) are as
follows:
§ The changing status and role of historical topics, such as the history of print and publishing, in the LIS curriculum.
§
The role of adjunct faculty in LIS
graduate education.
§
The definition of primary
professional knowledge as seen by the core curriculum in the MLIS degree.
§
The definition of core knowledge in
LIS doctoral programs.
§
The role of doctoral programs in
contributing to the scholarly and research literature supporting library and
information science.
§
The implications of replacing
“library” with “information” as the critical domain of the education of
librarians, archivists, and other information professionals.
§
The changing nature and present
status of continuing education in LIS graduate education programs.
§
The role, debates, and research
about the role of individual certification and programmatic accreditation in
LIS education.
§
The implications of the expansion of
distance education for the future of LIS education.
§
The merging of library and
information science.
§
The “I-School” movement and the
reasons for its development.
§
The causes and consequences of
“library school” closings in the 1980s and 1990s.
§
The issues and concerns of
international students in LIS graduate education programs in North American
schools.
§
The historic and present tension
between theory and practice in LIS graduate education programs.
§
The shifting attitudes about the
role or place of information technology in the LIS graduate curriculum.
§
The role of the practicum or
fieldwork in LIS graduate education.
§
The debate about specialization
versus generalization in LIS graduate education.
§
The value of and different
approaches to ranking graduate LIS programs.
§
The relationship between educators
and practitioners in LIS graduate education.
§
The use of practitioners as LIS
faculty adjuncts.
§
The relationship between LIS schools
and professional associations.
§
The impact of 9/11 and the
subsequent war on terror on LIS graduate education in North America.
§
The teaching of controversial topics
in LIS graduate education.
§
The teaching of social issues,
public policy, and ethical matters in LIS graduate education.
The above list represents merely
general topics that students can focus in better ways or revise. Students will be expected to immerse
themselves in the relevant professional and research literature, examine the
current web sites of the LIS schools, and contact (if necessary) the schools
for additional information. Students can
suggest other topics related to the education of librarians, archivists, and
other information professionals, including topics that might relate to their
planned dissertation research.
Each student will be expected to
complete this research paper, as described above in terms of potential topics,
on some aspect of LIS professional education.
The paper must be original and based on sources pertinent to their topic
(archival sources for a historical analysis, key or pivotal studies for an
analysis of research trends, and Web sites and interviews for current
professional education issues). The length should be 25 to 30 pages, including
endnotes (in addition to placing all citations as endnotes, each student must
hand in a list of works consulted – although the bibliography is not to be
counted as part of the 25 to 30 pages). The paper should use the recent Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition,
for citation forms. A portion of each class (generally the end of a session)
will be devoted to progress reports by students on their papers, as well as a
brief presentation about the final version of the paper (with critique by other
students). The paper is due on the next
to last class session (November 19) and must be submitted both in paper and
electronically as a Word document sent as an attachment to an email message to
the instructor or submitted via Blackboard in the digital dropbox. Students will present briefly their papers in
the last two class sessions of the course.
There is another option for the
research and writing assignments.
Students can do collaborative projects if they wish. The instructor will share some ideas, at the
beginning of the course, about issues and topics that LIS and SIS faculty have
been concerned about or working on (for example, the ongoing effort to develop
one common introductory course to students in all three of the masters programs
at SIS or the issue of recruiting and maintaining faculty members of
underrepresented groups in order to improve diversity of faculty in I-Schools
[the latter the topic of a planning grant being prepared for the Mellon
Foundation]). If there is mutual
interest in one of these topics, the students in the seminar could work
together, with the instructor’s advice and guidance, to compile some research
and prepare a jointly authored paper.
Contributions
to an LIS Bibliography.
Each week each student will send electronically as a Word attachment one
annotated description of an article, book, conference proceedings, unpublished
conference presentation, or dissertation having something to do with the
history, purpose, issues, and challenges of library and information science
education. The seminar instructor has a
working bibliography that he will provide to students in the first week of the
course as a starting point. Doctoral
students can use this bibliography, choosing from it whatever publication they
may be interested in reading and annotating, as well as drawing on the bibliography
for their own paper. However, seminar
students can also contribute bibliographic annotations on other works about LIS
education they come across as part of their work on their research papers.
Each annotation should be no longer
than 100 words, and each should include the full bibliographic information
following the Chicago Manual of Style. In their annotations, students should
describe the thesis of the publication, note whether it is a research study or
opinion piece, and assess its relevance for modern day understanding of LIS
education. Students also should note
separately (not as part of the annotation) other publications that should be
included in a bibliography on LIS education.
The purpose of this exercise is to assist doctoral students to delve
into the professional LIS education literature and to build a bibliography that
can be used by future doctoral students preparing for academic careers. The instructor will provide a few examples of
these annotations at the beginning of the seminar.
Annotations are due the Monday
afternoon (by 5 PM) before the regular seminar class on Tuesday. The instructor will review and discuss the
annotations received during the seminar, and, as appropriate, in the weekly blog
postings. If students review a
publication they believe should not be included in the bibliography, they
should submit a citation and brief explanation why this is their
recommendation. Students also should
feel free to introduce what they have been reading into the weekly seminar
discussions, if the publication is germane to that week’s subject. The instructor will review, edit, and compile
the working bibliography; he will maintain the bibliography on his personal
website for the use of the doctoral students.
The working bibliography is only a
beginning point for the review of the research and professional literature on
LIS education. It should not be
considered to be a final or comprehensive bibliography on this topic. However, by the end of the seminar, there
should be a stronger bibliography about LIS professional education. This bibliography will be used in the next
version of the introductory seminar.
Reading
and Contributing to the Blogs.
Students will be required to read and comment on postings or contribute
their own postings to a blog designed by the instructor to accompany this
seminar. The focus of the blog will be
on the ongoing news and research about higher education, primarily emphasizing
the nature of the university in the North American context (however, international
students are encouraged to provide comments or make postings from their
perspective as well). The blog will not
follow the topical structure of this seminar, generally commenting on breaking
stories about higher education relevant to the topics being explored in the
seminar.
Doctoral students should use the blog
to post their annotations on the LIS literature (as well as provide Word
versions to the instructor as email attachments), material related to their
leading seminar class sessions on the required book, comments on reports in the
Chronicle of Higher Education
relevant to course topics in the seminar, and anything else related to the
seminar. The blog will be the record of
the course, and it will remain up for the duration of the course. The instructor also will invite other active
LIS doctoral students and regular LIS faculty (including the dean and associate
dean) to read and comment on blog postings.
Opening up the blog in this fashion will enable students to see a
broader range of perspectives than the instructor’s about higher education and
the nature and status of LIS and I schools, although this will be better
reflected in the “What SIS Faculty Are Reading” blog. Seminar students have no obligation, however,
to post to the latter blog.
Leading
a Class Discussion.
Each student will be expected to complete the readings below
and to be prepared to discuss them in class (related recommended readings are
there for the students’ use). Students are expected to have read the required reading
for each week. The related recommended readings may be discussed in the course
blog, but it should be noted that these do not constitute a comprehensive
bibliography on higher education issues and topics; instead, these readings
reflect a representative range of research studies, memoirs, policy reports,
and polemics about the role of higher education in society read and selected by
the seminar instructor.
Each doctoral student will be
expected to lead the class in discussion of at least one particular week's readings, with the topics and dates to be
assigned at the beginning of the course (depending on the number of students in
the seminar). The student will have one hour in which to summarize and evaluate
the readings or to start the discussion by presenting relevant (and perhaps
controversial) issues. Each student leading this discussion will be expected to
highlight aspects of the readings relevant to the understanding of the
education of information professionals. In preparation for leading
the class, the student is expected to do literature searches related to the
topic and to comment on other relevant readings (especially identifying sources
available on the World Wide Web). The student should send as an email
attachment their list of other sources to the instructor as well as post these
materials a day or two before the class session on the seminar blog for the use
of all the other students in the course (but by no later than 5 PM on Monday).
Reading the Chronicle of Higher Education. Each student will be expected to peruse weekly the Chronicle of Higher Education. This publication is the premier source of news and information about higher education, and it is published in three sections: the news section; The Chronicle Review, a magazine of arts and ideas; and Careers, with career advice and hundreds of job listings. During and between class sessions, the instructor will highlight higher education news pertinent to professional schools and library and information science education; much of this discussion will occur on the seminar blog, where students also may want to post comments about what they have read in this source. The instructor will pass around his personal subscription for the use of the class, to be shared among the seminar students. Students also can read the Chronicle in the SIS library.
Attending Colloquia. One excellent way of learning about the nature of schools like SIS is to attend colloquia offered by candidates for faculty positions. The value for doctoral students is magnified because there is an opportunity to learn about how one prepares for and performs in faculty searches. There are two faculty positions presently open in SIS, and we anticipate some candidates for both positions interviewing in the Fall 2008 term. Students in this seminar will be required to attend any colloquia scheduled and to help prepare comments on the candidates to submit to the search committees.
Below are the announcements (slightly edited) for the two faculty positions:
Doreen E. Boyce
Chair. The University of Pittsburgh’s School of
Information Sciences is seeking applications for the endowed Doreen E. Boyce
Chair. Named in honor of Dr. Doreen E.
Boyce, who served many years as President of the Buhl Foundation, and in
recognition of Dr. Boyce's leadership in supporting the use of technology to
contribute to the quality of life, the Boyce Professor will be a prominent
scholar interested in the broad roles of the library and of information in
modern society.
The School of Information Sciences’ faculty of Library and
Information Science is committed to interdisciplinary research and teaching in
library and information science and archival studies. The School is seeking a senior scholar who
has examined the interaction among information, technology, and human behavior
from a broad social perspective. The Boyce Professor is expected to lead in the
shaping of a research agenda and a revised curriculum on the changing role of
libraries in the networked environment, and in crafting a new definition for
21st Century libraries and librarians in response to the continually changing
needs of our networked global society.
Within the broad context of building a sense of cultural and civic
community, areas of interest include, but are not limited to, public policy,
the dynamics of information in contemporary society, communication in a
networked society, and the economics of information.
It is expected that the Boyce Professor will be appointed with the
rank of Professor. Candidates applying
for the position are expected to demonstrate:
* visionary leadership
to serve as a catalyst for positive change in the profession;
* an exemplary record of
scholarship and publication and a commitment to reach a wider public through
colloquia and publishing;
* experience in
interdisciplinary and collaborative research;
* an earned doctorate in
the natural sciences, social sciences or humanities, communications,
engineering, economics, public policy, or other relevant discipline; and
* a record of
substantial achievement in research design and funding.
The candidate will be expected to teach and to direct doctoral
research and to take a leadership role in building a strong research and
publications program within the School.
As a leading educator of information professionals, the School of
Information Sciences is prepared to support a scholar with such interests and
qualities. The Boyce Professor has the
opportunity to work with established research centers such as the Visual
Information Systems Center, developing research centers, including the Center
for National Preparedness, and to work with new educational ventures, such as
the Sara Fine Institute for Interpersonal Behavior and Technology. The School is home to leading scholars and
educators in archives and records management, library science, information
science and telecommunications, providing the Boyce Professor with a strong
cadre of colleagues for collaborative research and teaching.
The position will remain open until filled, although candidates
are encouraged to submit their applications by April 30, 2008; earlier
applications are strongly encouraged, with the potential of appointing an
individual to the Chair as early as fall 2008.
Individuals applying should provide a statement describing their
research and teaching interests, and a statement of how they envision these
complementing the School and the University, curriculum vitae, and the names
and addresses of at least six references.
Senior Scholar in
Scholarly Communication or “Cyberscholarship.” The School of Information Sciences at the
University of Pittsburgh is seeking applications for a senior scholar in areas
of data-rich scholarly communication and education. This senior faculty
position builds on an expectation of continuing challenge, opportunity, and
promise resulting from the sustained and rapid growth of information.
While the individual selected for this position will define the
research agenda, the School anticipates a focus on driving questions such as:
* How are academic disciplines re-examining
their scholarly priorities, reshaping their methodologies, and redefining
evidence bases in light of new media and new tools?
* Given the likely
long-term nature of deep and sustained disciplinary transformation, what do
information professionals need to know about individual disciplines, and
specifically their use and management of information, in order to be more
effective partners in the scholarly process of advancing knowledge?
The resulting program will investigate the future of scholarly
communication, particularly in light of advances in cyberinfrastructure and new
media.
We anticipate that the scholar recruited to this position will
hold the rank of tenured full professor and will have first-hand experience in
transformative, data-driven scholarship, either within a discipline or at the
tools and infrastructure level, with a passion for extending this work to other
disciplines.
Opportunities available to the scholar accepting this position
include:
* Research on
digitally-enabled scholarly communication, in collaboration with (and supported
by the infrastructure of) the University Library System (ULS),
* Teaching doctoral
seminars cutting across the School’s programs in library, information,
archival, and telecommunications studies,
* Experimental
internships engaging information school students in other disciplines to
develop informatics strategies,
* Informatics workshops,
including online offerings, in collaboration with target disciplines,
* Instrumented pilot
projects between libraries, archives, museums and disciplinary scholars to test
cyberscholarship hypotheses,
* Coordination with
institutions and agencies who are shaping the future of scholarly
communication, including but not limited to federal agencies such as NSF, IMLS,
NIH, and NEH, international organizations such as JISC and SURF, and private
foundations such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Getty Trust, and
* Collaboration with the
intellectual leadership of cyberinfrastructure programs in the sciences and
humanities.
Candidates applying for the position are expected to demonstrate:
* visionary leadership
to serve as a catalyst for positive change in the profession;
* an exemplary record of
scholarship and publication and a commitment to reach a wider public through
colloquia and publishing;
* experience in
interdisciplinary and collaborative research;
* an earned doctorate in
the natural sciences, social sciences or humanities, communications, library or
information sciences, engineering, economics, public policy, or other relevant
discipline; and
* a record of
substantial achievement in research design and funding.
The candidate will be expected to teach and to direct doctoral
research and to take a leadership role in building a strong research and
publications program within the School.
As a leading educator of information professionals, the School of
Information Sciences is prepared to support a scholar with such interests and
qualities. The individual selected will
have the opportunity to work with established research centers such as the
Visual Information Systems Center, developing research centers, including the
Center for National Preparedness, and to work with new educational ventures,
such as the Sara Fine Institute for Interpersonal Behavior and Technology. The School is home to leading scholars and
educators in archives and records management, library science, information science
and telecommunications, providing the successful candidate with a strong cadre
of colleagues for collaborative research and teaching.
The position will remain open until filled, although candidates
are encouraged to submit their applications by June 30, 2008; earlier
applications are strongly encouraged, with the potential of appointing an
individual as early as January 2009.
Individuals applying should provide:
* a statement describing
their research and teaching interests,
* a statement of how
they envision these complementing the School and the University,
* a current curriculum
vitae, and
* the names and
addresses of at least six references.
Attending Class Sessions. Attendance at seminar class sessions is mandatory. Absences will necessitate documentation produced by the student or prior consultation with the instructor. Two unexcused absences will result in the lowering of the grade by one letter grade; more than two unexcused absences will result in a failing grade.
Grading. The course grade will be based on
a 50/50 weighting for the research paper and the class discussions of the
readings, commentary on the blog postings, contributions to the annotated
bibliography on LIS education, and the reading of the Chronicle of Higher Education. All final papers must be handed in by the second to last
week of class (November 19), although students will be asked to make weekly
reports on their papers and to provide a final summary at the end of the
course. No incompletes will be given.
Academic and Other Student
Issues. All
students also should be aware of the School’s Academic Integrity guidelines
regarding this and all other matters concerning grades. These guidelines
are available at http://www.sis.pitt.edu/academics/integrity.html.
Students with disabilities who
require special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications should
notify the instructor and the office of Disability Resources & Services
(DRS) no later than the 4th week of the term. Students may be asked to
provide documentation of their disability to determine the appropriateness of
the request. DRS is located in 216 William Pitt Union and can be
contacted at 648-7890 (Voice), 624-3346(Fax), and 383-7355(TTY).
Students who must miss an exam or
class due to religious observance must notify the instructor ahead of time and
make alternative arrangements.
The
Course
Week One (August 26, 2008)
“Old-Fashioned Ideas about Jobs, Vocations, Professions, Disciplines, and Callings: Why Are You Here and Where Are You Going?” Discussion by Professor Cox
Recommended Reading
William M. Sullivan, Work and Integrity: The Crisis and Promise of Professionalism in America, 2nd ed. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005). This is not a required volume, but it is a highly recommended reading for assisting students to think through why they are committing their time and resources to a doctoral program.
Randy Pausch, with Jeffrey Zaslow, The Last Lecture (New York: Hyperion, 2008). This is the memoir of the CMU professor dying of cancer, and his reflections on his professional and personal life. This is a revealing examination of why someone wants to be a professor, why they love teaching, grappling with ideas, and working with students. Reflecting on giving his last lecture and having it videotaped, Pausch writes, “I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children. If I were a painter, I would have painted for them. If I were a musician, I would have composed music. But I am a lecturer. So I lectured” (p. x). Students also might visit Randy Pausch’s website at http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/.
Class Session Activities
Review of course requirements by Professor Cox.
Signing up by students for leading discussions during the remainder of the course.
Distribution of working bibliography on LIS education.
Orientation to the seminar and SIS faculty blogs.
Introduction by students about their program plans, dissertation research potential topics, and their career aspirations.