UNIVERSITY OF
Fall 2007
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
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
by the instructor, providing bibliographic analysis of the research, public
scholarship, memoirs, and other assessments of the nature of higher education,
following the sequence of various themes of the course as outlined in the
syllabus. It is expected that doctoral
students will contribute comments to the blog.
Second, students will learn about critical issues confronting Schools of
Library and Information Science 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, 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. By appropriate, 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 the various 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, 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. 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 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 27) and must be submitted both in paper and
electronically as a Word document sent as an attachment to an email message to
the instructor. Students will present
briefly their papers on the last two sessions of class.
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 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 Blog.
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 literature 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 follow the topical structure of
this seminar, and generally it will comment on the supplemental readings listed
in the syllabus as “related recommended readings” and other publications as
they become available.
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, in his capacity as Chair of
LIS Doctoral Studies, 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; depending on the nature and success of the blog, it may be
continued after the seminar. 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.
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 will 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.
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 order several subscriptions for the use of the class, to be shared among the seminar students.
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 weighing 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, 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 28, 2007)
“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.
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 blog
Introduction by students about their program plans, dissertation research potential topics, and their career aspirations.
Week Two (September 4, 2007)
Jaroslav Pelikan, The Idea of the University: A Reexamination
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992).
Professor Cox will lead the discussion of this book.
Why do you want to prepare for a
career as an academic? The place to
start is with considering the mission of the university and its historical
place in society. John Henry Newman, the
English convert from the Anglican to the Catholic Church, served as rector in
Dublin, Ireland of the newly-established Catholic University of Ireland (today
University College Dublin) from 1854 to 1858. Newman was a poor administrator of the
fledgling university, but he wrote, as a result of his experiences, one of the
most influential descriptions of the purpose of the university, The Idea of the University, published in
1859. A century and a half later,
Pelikan, a prolific historian of religion and theology, wrote a “reexamination”
of Newman’s seminal book, crafting one of the best excursions into what the
university represents. Pelikan considers
the purpose of the university, its role in society, the relationship of
teaching and research, the present crisis in higher education, the role of
athletics, and the university’s function as a means for preserving knowledge.
Recommended Related Readings
Jacques Barzun, The American University: How It Runs, Where It Is Going, 2nd. ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999; org. pub., 1968).
Derek Bok, Beyond the Ivory Tower: Social Responsibilities of the Modern University (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982).
Derek Bok, Higher Learning (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986).
Derek C. Bok, Universities and the Future of America (Durham: Duke University Press, 1990).
Pierre Bourdieu, Homo Academicus (Cambridge, U.K.: Polity, 1988).
A. Bartlett Giametti, A Free and Ordered Space: The Real World of the University (New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1990).
Annette Kolodny, Failing the Future: A Dean Looks at Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century (Durham: Duke University Press, 1998).
Richard C. Levin, The Work of the University (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).
Frank H. T. Rhodes, The Creation of the Future: The Role of the American University (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001).
Henry Rosovsky, The University: An Owner’s Manual (New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1990).
Harold T. Shapiro, A Larger Sense of Purpose: Higher Education and Society (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005).
Garry Wills, Mr. Jefferson’s University (Washington,
D.C.: National Geographic, 2002).
Class Session Activities
Reminiscences by Dr. Ellen Detlefsen
concerning the changing ideas of a library school (10:15-11:15)
Selection of topics for research
papers by seminar students
Review of working with doctoral
program advisor (Professor Cox)
Discussion of LIS education
annotations and seminar blog
Week Three (September 11, 2007)
Required Reading
John R. Thelin, A History of American Higher Education (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 2004).
When one joins a faculty, he or she becomes part of an institution with both a rich past and broad popular perceptions of its role in society. Colleges and universities, like any institutional form, have a history. They were not immediate successes, and they have gone through many changes and faced many challenges. Historian Thelin provides an overview history of American higher education, considering the successes and failures of these institutions and providing a foundation for understanding the current debates about the university. Thelin considers the ongoing debate about what should be taught in the university, the tensions between liberal arts curriculum and professional training, government influence on the nature of higher education, the role of private foundations, and the perceptions of higher education through American culture such as films and popular magazines.
Recommended Related Readings
Thomas Bender, Intellect and Public Life: Essays on the Social History of Academic Intellectuals in the United States (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993).
Thomas Bender and Carl E. Schorske, eds., American Academic Culture in Transformation: Fifty Years, Four Disciplines (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997).
William Clark, Academic Charisma and the Origins of the Research University (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006).
Hugh Hawkins, Pioneer: A History of the Johns Hopkins University, 1874-1889 (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1960).
George Marsden, The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994).
Julie A. Reuben, The Making of the Modern University: Intellectual Transformation and the Marginalization of Morality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996).
Class
Session Activities
Dean Ronald L. Larsen will lead a
discussion about the “I-School” movement and its place in the history of
library and information science professional education in the university
(10:15-11:15)
Students will report on the progress in
their research papers.
Discussion of LIS education annotations and seminar blog
Successfully completing
doctoral coursework (Professor Cox)
Professional Schools and Faculty in the
Emerging Corporate University
Week Four (September 18, 2007)
Donald Kennedy, Academic Duty (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997).
So, what does a faculty in a university do? Do they teach a little, but mostly engage in
important research and scholarship? Do
they have bosses, in the sense that most people in corporations and other
institutions do? Or, are faculty members
more like independent entrepreneurs?
Many outsiders such as policymakers and media pundits, as well as
parents often paying the bills, have questioned just what is happening with the
modern university. Friends and foes
alike want to know more about what is being taught, how efficiently the
university is being run, why costs seem to be out of control, and just how
practical or useful is the research being done by universities and their
faculties. Kennedy, the former president of Stanford University, considers
teaching, graduate education, research, and other functions of the modern
university, constructing his argument around the notion of a responsible
faculty and academic administration.
This book will answer some questions and raise others for anyone
contemplating an academic career.
Recommended Related Readings
“The American Academic Profession,” Daedalus 126 (Fall 1997).
Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim (New York: Penguin Books, 1992; org. published 1954).
Jacques Barzun, The House of Intellect (New York: HarperCollins, 2002; org. pub. 1959).
David Damrosch, Meetings of the Mind (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000).
Leigh DeNeef and Craufurd D. Goodwin, eds., The Academic’s Handbook, 2nd. Ed. (Durham: Duke University Press, 1995).
David B. Downing, The Knowledge Contract: Politics and Paradigms in the Academic Workplace (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005).
James Lang, Life on the Tenure Track: Lessons from the First Year (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005).
David Lodge, The British Museum Is Falling Down (New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1965); Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses (New York: Penguin Books, 1978); and Nice Work (New York: Penguin Books, 1990).
Cary Nelson and Stephen Watt, Academic Keywords: A Devil’s Dictionary for Higher Education (New York: Routledge, 1999).
Deborah L. Rhode, In Pursuit of Knowledge: Scholars, Status, and Academic Culture (Stanford, CA: Stanford Law and Politics, Stanford University Press, 2006).
Richard Russo, Straight Man (New York: Vintage Books, 1998).
Elaine Showalter, Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and Its Discontents (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005).
Jane Smiley, Moo (New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1995).
Alexander McCall Smith, Portuguese Irregular Verbs (New York: Anchor Books, 2003); The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs (New York: Anchor Books, 2003); and At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances (New York: Anchor Books, 2003).
Don J. Snyder, The Cliff Walk: A Memoir of a Job Lost and a Life Found (Boston: Little Brown and Co., 1997).
Class Session Activities
Associate Dean Martin Weiss will discuss the evolving responsibilities
of faculty in the re-organized School of Information Sciences.
Students will report on the progress in
their research papers.
Discussion of LIS education annotations and seminar blog
Preparing for the
Preliminary Examination (Professor Cox)
Week Five (September 25, 2007)
Required Reading
David F. Labaree, The Trouble with Ed Schools (New Haven:
Yale University Press, 2004).
What does it mean to be a professor in a professional school in the university? Although one of the hallmarks of the rise of the modern university in the past century has been the creation of professional schools and the development of disciplines, the professional schools have often had a tenuous, stormy relationship to the university. Labaree, a sociologist, provides a candid analysis of one of these kinds of professional schools, schools of education. Labaree examines their poor reputation, lack of respect, a divided loyalty between working practitioners and the demands of the research university, their mission, and the challenges facing them – all relating to issues faced by other professional schools such as in library and information science. Understanding the position of these schools in the university is critical to an individual preparing to be an academic in a professional school.
Recommended Related Readings
Julie Thompson Klein, Interdisciplinarity: History, Theory, and Practice (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990) and Crossing Boundaries: Knowledge, Disciplinarities, and Interdisciplinarities (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1996).
Edward W. Said, Representations of the Intellectual (New York: Vintage Books, 1996) and Humanism and Democratic Criticism (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004).
Edgar H. Schein, Professional Education: Some New Directions
(New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1972).
Class Session Activities
Dr. Sue Alman will discuss the nature of distance education, the debates about the nature and purpose of distance education, and the evolution of the Fast Track program at the School of Information Sciences (10:15-11:15)
Discussion of LIS education annotations and seminar blog.
Students will report on the progress in their research papers.
Staying focused on the
dissertation through the coursework and examinations (Professor Cox)
Week Six (October 2, 2007)
Required Reading
Derek Bok, Universities in the Marketplace: The Commercialization of Higher
Education (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003).
Studies and polemics have poured from the presses decrying the takeover of the modern university by the corporate mindset, where students become customers, everything is for sale, and the financial bottom line is the critical metric for evaluating the state of higher education. Regardless, universities have to pay their bills, and the financial structure of higher education has become more uncertain with declining government support and greater competition for career training. Bok, the former president of Harvard University, considers athletics, corporate-supported research, teaching, distance education, for-profit educational ventures, and a variety of other issues in a book that challenges the public and policymakers to reconsider where higher education is heading. What he describes