Contrasting and comparison of positivist and post-positivist approaches, as well as historical approaches to social inquiry

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1 Syllabus for the Course 16:194:696 SPECIAL TOPICS (LIS) (3) SEMINAR IN COMPARATIVE EPISTEMOLOGIES AND THEORIES OF KNOWLEDGE Professor Marija Dalbello SCILS -- Rutgers University I. Description The seminar will examine theories of knowledge production and institutionalization with a particular focus on the methodology and theory for the study of social change and social memory institutions (libraries, archives, museums). It will present and critique constructivist and realist paradigms in science and technology and case studies of emergent socio-technical systems such as digital libraries, and the new media environments and scholarly communication. II. Pre- and/or Co-requisite None III. Course Objectives Contrasting and comparison of positivist and post-positivist approaches, as well as historical approaches to social inquiry Understanding and application of comparative (social) epistemologies for research and applied contexts in LIS Examining 'case' approach and connection to implicit theories of knowledge including absolutism, pragmatism, realism and feminist theories and their application in the scientific and humanistic inquiry of socio-technical phenomena Understanding of cross-disciplinary approaches and ability to work in inter-disciplinary teams in conceptualization and evaluation projects IV. Organization of the Course Module I Theories of Knowledge 1. Knowledge and the Epistemology Paradox 2. Cultural / Social Construction of Reality 3. Theories of Knowledge: An Overview 4. Positivist Epistemologies 5. Critiques of Positivism 6. Non-Positivist Epistemologies: Social Constructivism 7. Epistemological Breaks in Science & Technology 8. Social Constructivism: Applications in LIS 9. Social Epistemology: Applications in LIS Module II Knowledge as Social Action 1. Applied Social Science (The Praxis Approach) 2. Social Worlds / Situated Knowledge Module III Epistemologies & Methodologies 1. Interpretation 2. Narrative 3. Ethnographies & Histories Major Assignments REQUIRED TEXTS: Pollock, John L. and Joseph Cruz Contemporary Theories of Knowledge. 2 nd ed. (Rowman and Littlefield) Feagin, Joe R. and Hernán Vera Liberation Sociology. (Westview Press) ADDITIONAL TEXTS: Bijker, Wiebe A Of Bicycles, Bakelites, and Bulbs: Toward a Theory of Sociotechnical Change. (MIT Press) Haraway, Donna J Modest_Witness@Second_Millenium. Female Man_Meets_Oncomouse : Feminism and Technoscience. (Routledge) Goldman, Alvin Knowledge in a Social World. (Oxford U Latour, Bruno, and Steve Woolgar Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts. (Princeton U VI. Methods of Assessment Position Papers (critical commentary of readings) 15% of final grade Class Participation and Discussion 25% of final grade Term Paper 60% of final grade

2 VII. Course Readings Benoit, Gerald Toward a Critical Theoretic Perspective in Information Systems, Library Quarterly 72 (4): Berger, Peter L., and Thomas Luckmann The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge (Doubleday) (Ch. 1& 2: pp. 1-46) Bijker, Wiebe A Of Bicycles, Bakelites, and Bulbs: Toward a Theory of Sociotechnical Change. (MIT Press) Bitbol, Michel Non-Representationalist Theories of Knowledge and Quantum Mechanics, Nordic Journal of Philosophy 2: ( ; accessed April 24, 2004) Bowker, Geoffrey C., and Susan Leigh Star Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences. (MIT Press) Budd, John M Jesse Shera, Sociologist of Knowledge? The Library Quarterly. Vol. 72 (4:2002): Butler, Cornelia Flora Reconstructing Agriculture: The Case for Local Knowledge, Rural Sociology 57: Daston, Lorraine (ed.) Biographies of Scientific Objects. (U of Edmonds, David, and John Eidinow Wittgenstein's Poker: The Story of a Ten Minute Argument Between Two Great Philosophers. (Routledge) Erickson, Kirstin C They Will Come from the Other Side of the Sea : Prophecy, Ethnogenesis, and Agency in Yaqui Narrative, Journal of American Folklore 116:462: Feagin, Joe R. and Hernán Vera Liberation Sociology. (Westview Press) Frohmann, Bernd Taking Information Policy Beyond Information Science: Applying the Actor Network Theory. ( accessed April 24, 2004) Galison, Peter L Image and Logic: A Material Culture of Microphysics. (U of Geertz, Clifford Common Sense as a Cultural System, The Antioch Review, 50 (1&2): Goldman, Alvin Argumentation and Social Epistemology, Journal of Philosophy: Goldman, Alvin Knowledge in a Social World. (Oxford U Haraway, Donna J Modest_Witness@Second_Millenium. Female Man_Meets_Oncomouse : Feminism and Technoscience. (Routledge) Hyland, Paul, Olga Gomez, and Francesca Greensides (eds.) The Enlightenment: A Sourcebook and Reader. (Routledge) Johns, Adrian The Nature of the Book: Print and Knowledge in the Making. (U of Kincheloe, Joe L., and Peter L. McLaren Rethinking Critical Theory and Qualitative Research. In The Landscape of Qualitative Reserch Theories and Issues. Ed. Norman Denzin & Yvonna Lincoln. (Sage) Kitcher, Philip Scientific Knowledge. In The Oxford Handbook of Epistemology. Ed. Paul K. Moser. Oxford U P. Kreiswirth, Martin Merely Telling Stories? Narrative and Knowledge in the Human Sciences, Poetics Today 21:2: Latour, Bruno Aramis, or, The Love of Technology. (Harvard U Latour, Bruno The Pasteurization of France. (Harvard U Latour, Bruno We Have Never Been Modern. (Harvard U Latour, Bruno, and Steve Woolgar Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts. (Princeton U Miller, Richard Replacing Positivism. In Fact and Method, pp (Princeton U Olick, Jeffrey K, and Joyce Robbins Social Memory Studies: From 'Collective

3 Memory' to the Historical Sociology of Mnemonic Practices, Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): Panofsky, Erwin The History of Art as a Humanistic Discipline. In Meaning in the Visual Arts. pp (Doubleday) Phillips, D.C Positivism and Social Construction of Knowledge. In The Expanded Social Scientists Bestiary, pp , (Rowman and Littlefield) Pitt, Joseph C New Directions in the Philosophy of Technology. (Kluwer) Pollock, John L. and Joseph Cruz Contemporary Theories of Knowledge. 2 nd ed. (Rowman and Littlefield) Popper, Karl. 1992/1959. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. (Routledge) Ravetz, Jerome R Scientific Knowledge and its Social Problems. (Transaction Publishers) Schwandt, Thomas A. Constructivist, Interpretivist Approaches to Human Inquiry. In The Landscape of Qualitative Research: Theories and Issues, pp Ed. Norman K. Denzin & Yvonna S. Lincoln. (Sage) Smith, Dorothy E From a Women's Standpoint to a Sociology for People. In Sociology for the Twenty-First Century. Ed. J.L. Abu-Lughod, pp (U of Chicago Turner, Jonathan H The Structure of Sociological Theory. (Wadsworth Publishing Company) Van House, Nancy Actor-Network Theory, Knowledge Work, and Digital Libraries. ( accessed April 24, 2004) Wenger, Etienne Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. (Cambridge University Press) 16:194:696 SPECIAL TOPICS (LIS) (3) SEMINAR IN COMPARATIVE EPISTEMOLOGIES AND THEORIES OF KNOWLEDGE Professor Marija Dalbello SCILS -- Rutgers University (732) / 8215 dalbello@scils.rutgers.edu Office hours: Tuesdays 12-2 // Thursdays 12-2 Class time: Thursdays, 3:20-6:00 CIL 301 Course website: Readings: Some of the readings will be distributed in class. Students will obtain other readings independently. Week 1 Sept. 2 Introduction to the class Overview of Course and Requirements Module I Theories of Knowledge Week 2 Sept. 9 Knowledge and the Epistemology Paradox Cultural / Social Construction of Reality DISCUSSION: Schwandt, Berger, pp. 1-46, Geertz Week 3 Sept. 16 Theories of Knowledge: An Overview Week 4 Sept. 23 Positivist Epistemologies Week 5 Sept. 30 Critiques of Positivism DISCUSSION: Pollock & Cruz, Contemporary Theories (Ch. 1-4) DISCUSSION: (cont.) Pollock & Cruz, Contemporary Theories (Ch. 5-7) Phillips, Bitbol, Kitcher, Miller PRESENTATION: Haraway, Modest Witness

4 Week 6 Oct. 7 Non-Positivist Epistemologies: Social Constructivism PRESENTATION: Latour, Laboratory Life Week 7 Oct. 14 Epistemological Breaks in Science & Technology PRESENTATION: Bijker, Of Bicycles, Bulbs Week 8 Oct. 21 Social Constructivism: Applications in LIS Week 9 Oct. 28 Social Epistemology Module II Knowledge as Social Action DISCUSSION: Van House, Frohmann, Benoit DISCUSSION: Budd or Goldman Week 10 Nov. 4 Applied Social Science (The Praxis Approach) DISCUSSION: Feagin & Vera, Liberation Sociology Week 11 Nov. 11 Social Worlds / Situated Knowledge Module III Epistemologies & Methodologies Week 12 Nov. 18 Interpretation PRESENTATION: Goldman, Knowledge in a Social World DISCUSSION: (cont.) Liberation Sociology, Butler, Smith DISCUSSION: Panofsky Nov. 25 Thanksgiving - no class Week 13 Dec. 2 Narrative DISCUSSION: Kreiswirth Week 14 Dec. 9 Ethnographies & Histories DISCUSSION: Erickson, Olick Week 15 Dec. 16 Project due Selected Background Readings: These readings include your weekly assigned readings and other titles that will be useful to you in preparing your assignments and further reading. Weekly Assigned Readings: Week 2: Knowledge and the Epistemology Paradox; Cultural / Social Construction of Reality Berger, Peter L., and Thomas Luckmann The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge (Doubleday) (ch. 1& 2: pp. 1-46) Geertz, Clifford Common Sense as a Cultural System, The Antioch Review, 50 (1&2): Schwandt, Thomas A. Constructivist, Interpretivist Approaches to Human Inquiry. In The Landscape of Qualitative Research: Theories and Issues, pp Ed. Norman K. Denzin & Yvonna S. Lincoln. (Sage) Week 3: Theories of Knowledge: An Overview Pollock, John L. and Joseph Cruz Contemporary Theories of Knowledge. 2 nd ed. (Rowman and Littlefield) Week 4: Positivist Epistemologies Bitbol, Michel Non-Representationalist Theories of Knowledge and Quantum Mechanics, Nordic Journal of Philosophy 2: ( ; accessed April 24, 2004) Kitcher, Philip Scientific Knowledge. In The Oxford Handbook of Epistemology. Ed. Paul K. Moser. Oxford U P. Miller, Richard Replacing Positivism. In Fact and Method, pp (Princeton U

5 Phillips, D.C Positivism and Social Construction of Knowledge. In The Expanded Social Scientists Bestiary, pp , (Rowman and Littlefield) Week 5: Critiques of Positivism Haraway, Donna J Female Man_Meets_Oncomouse : Feminism and Technoscience. (Routledge) Week 6: Non-Positivist Epistemologies: Social Constructivism Latour, Bruno, and Steve Woolgar Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts. (Princeton U Week 7: Epistemological Breaks in Science & Technology Bijker, Wiebe A Of Bicycles, Bakelites, and Bulbs: Toward a Theory of Sociotechnical Change. (MIT Press) Week 8: Social Constructivism: Applications in LIS Benoit, Gerald Toward a Critical Theoretic Perspective in Information Systems, Library Quarterly 72 (4): Frohmann, Bernd Taking Information Policy Beyond Information Science: Applying the Actor Network Theory. ( accessed April 24, 2004) Van House, Nancy Actor-Network Theory, Knowledge Work, and Digital Libraries. ( accessed April 24, 2004) Week 9: Social Epistemology: Applications in LIS Budd, John M Jesse Shera, Sociologist of Knowledge? The Library Quarterly. Vol. 72 (4:2002): Goldman, Alvin Argumentation and Social Epistemology, Journal of Philosophy: Module II Knowledge as Social Action Week 10: Applied Social Science (The Praxis Approach) Feagin, Joe R. and Hernán Vera Liberation Sociology. (Westview Press) Week 11: Social Worlds / Situated Knowledge Goldman, Alvin Knowledge in a Social World. (Oxford U Butler, Cornelia Flora Reconstructing Agriculture: The Case for Local Knowledge, Rural Sociology 57: Smith, Dorothy E From a Women's Standpoint to a Sociology for People. In Sociology for the Twenty-First Century. Ed. J.L. Abu-Lughod, pp (U of Chicago Module III Epistemologies & Methodologies Week 12: Interpretation Panofsky, Erwin The History of Art as a Humanistic Discipline. In Meaning in the Visual Arts. pp (Doubleday) Week 13: Narrative Kreiswirth, Martin Merely Telling Stories? Narrative and Knowledge in the Human Sciences, Poetics Today 21:2: Week 14: Ethnographies & Histories Erickson, Kirstin C They Will Come from the Other Side of the Sea : Prophecy, Ethnogenesis, and Agency in Yaqui Narrative, Journal of American Folklore 116:462: Olick, Jeffrey K, and Joyce Robbins Social Memory Studies: From 'Collective Memory' to the Historical Sociology of Mnemonic Practices, Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): Additional Titles of Interest Bowker, Geoffrey C., and Susan Leigh Star Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences. (MIT Press) Daston, Lorraine (ed.) Biographies of Scientific Objects. (U of

6 Edmonds, David, and John Eidinow Wittgenstein's Poker: The Story of a Ten Minute Argument Between Two Great Philosophers. (Routledge) Galison, Peter L Image and Logic: A Material Culture of Microphysics. (U of Hyland, Paul, Olga Gomez, and Francesca Greensides (eds.) The Enlightenment: A Sourcebook and Reader. (Routledge) Johns, Adrian The Nature of the Book: Print and Knowledge in the Making. (U of Kincheloe, Joe L., and Peter L. McLaren Rethinking Critical Theory and Qualitative Research. In The Landscape of Qualitative Reserch Theories and Issues. Ed. Norman Denzin & Yvonna Lincoln. (Sage) Latour, Bruno Aramis, or, The Love of Technology. (Harvard U Latour, Bruno The Pasteurization of France. (Harvard U Latour, Bruno We Have Never Been Modern. (Harvard U Pitt, Joseph C New Directions in the Philosophy of Technology. (Kluwer) Popper, Karl. 1992/1959. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. (Routledge) Ravetz, Jerome R Scientific Knowledge and its Social Problems. (Transaction Publishers) Turner, Jonathan H The Structure of Sociological Theory. (Wadsworth Publishing Company) Wenger, Etienne Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. (Cambridge University Press)

DOCTORAL RESEARCH METHODS IIB (COMMUNICATION AND THE STUDY OF MEANING) Glasser/Communication 314 Stanford University Spring Quarter 2006

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