<br>

Last revised January 7, 2006.

Course Syllabus for IRLS 617: Social Epistemology and Information Science


Spring 06 Instructor: Don Fallis



COURSE NAME, NUMBER, AND PREREQUISITES

Social Epistemology and Information Service

IRLS 617

Prerequisites: None
[return to top of page]


COURSE DESCRIPTION

"Applies various theories of knowledge to information science. Emphasis on identifying practices that information services such as libraries can adopt to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge."

Epistemology is the study of knowledge. Basically, epistemology is concerned with how it is that people know what they know. Work in epistemology has typically focused on how individuals working alone acquire knowledge about the world. However, in the past few decades, researchers have been looking at how people acquire knowledge in a social context. Social epistemology is concerned, for example, with how a person acquires knowledge from other people.  But why should social epistemology be of interest to library and information professionals?

Note: One clue that it might be of interest is that the term social epistemology was first used by two library scientists: Jesse Shera and Margaret Egan of the Graduate Library School at the University of Chicago.

When someone goes to a library or surfs the Internet for information, s/he typically wants to acquire some knowledge. Information professionals try to facilitate this acquisition of knowledge. Librarians want the patron to be better informed when s/he leaves the library than when s/he arrived. (In fact, this is arguably the sine qua non of libraries.) Social epistemology is concerned with how we can go about acheiving this goal. In other words, it is concerned with identifying those practices that best facilitate the acquisition of knowledge (see, e.g., Goldman 1999 and Shera 1961).

In the first part of this course, we will survey some of the current theoretical work in social epistemology.  Next, we will look at several practical applications of social epistemology to information science (e.g., in the areas of collection management, reference work, access to information, and the Internet).  We will look at practices that the producers and disseminators of information are in a position to implement and we will try to determine how well these practices foster the acquisition of knowledge from recorded information.

[return to top of page]

COURSE FORMAT

This course will be taught virtually using a D2L course on the Web. Enrolled students will be given accounts early in the fall semester.

Note: Information about using D2L is available at http://www.sir.arizona.edu/resources/computing.html#d2l.  In addition, you can contact Jennifer Redford (redford@email.arizona.edu) for help with D2L.  (She is the SIRLS D2L GAT this semester.)  If you have trouble with D2L, send Jennifer an email message explaining exactly what is happening.

I plan to post one lecture per week.  I plan to post these lectures on Wednesday afternoon or evening. So, you should find them posted in the "Content" area of the D2L course by the following morning.  A brief introductory lecture will be posted on the first day of classes (1/11/06).

I will set up a discussion forum for each lecture.  Online discussions of the content of the course will take place in these forums.  The participation requirement for this course requires active participation in these discussions.  You should have something thoughtful to say (a question, a comment, a reply, etc.) every week or so.  But in order to stay up-to-date on discussions and announcements, you should check into D2L every day or so.

Note: The last day of classes this semester is May 3rd.  This will be the last official day for participation.  However, D2L should still be accessible for at least a couple of weeks after that point.  I will still be checking in on the discussions and you are free to continue posting to the discussion forums.

I have a couple of small requests with regard to the discussion forums.  These forums will be our main mode of communication in this course.  In order to keep this communication more or less organized, I will set up different forums for different purposes.  For example, in addition to a forum for each lecture, I will also set up a "Greetings" forum for you to describe who you are and why you are taking this particular course.  So, my first request is that you try to direct your comments to the appropriate forum.  My second request is that you use D2L email, instead of the forums, for any personal correspondence.

[return to top of page]

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, students will:

[return to top of page]


REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

There is no required text to buy.  Even so, you may want to consider purchasing Knowledge in a Social World by Alvin Goldman (New  York: Oxford University Press, 1999).  At least two of the readings will be chapters from this book.  In addition, there are a number of other chapters in this book that are very relevant to topics that we will discuss in this course.

The readings for this course (which are subject to modification) will all be available electronically.  Some readings will be on the web.  Other readings are in journals that can be accessed online through UA Library.  (You will need a CatCard number to access these readings.)  Still other readings (viz., those which do not have links) will be available through electronic reserves.  (The password will be distributed in D2L.)

Note: Two of the readings are from an issue of Social Epistemology on "Social Epistemology and Information Science."  There are several other articles in this issue that are relevant to this course.

1. Social Epistemology and Information Science

  • Shera, Jesse. 1970. "Library and Knowledge." Pp. 82-110 in Sociological Foundations of Librarianship. New York: Asia Publishing House.
  • Shera, Jesse. 1961. "Social Epistemology, General Semantics, and Librarianship." Wilson Library Bulletin 35:767-70.
  • Furner, Jonathan. 2002. "Shera's Social Epistemology Recast As Psychological Bibliology." Social Epistemology 16:5-22.
    • 2. The Objectives of Information Services 3. Epistemology
  • Steup, Matthias. "The Analysis of Knowledge." http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/knowledge-analysis/ (especially sections 1 and 2).
  • Descartes, Rene. "Of the Things Which May Be Brought Within the Sphere of the Doubtful." Meditations On First Philosophy.
    • 4. Social Epistemology 5. Worries about Applying Epistemology to Information Science

    6.  Collective Knowers

    7. Epistemic Objectives 8. Applications of Epistemology to Information Science
  • Goldman, Alvin. 1999. "The Technology and Economics of Communication." Chapter 6 of Knowledge in a Social World (especially pages 161 to 182).
  • Meola, Marc. 2000. Review of Knowledge in a Social World by Alvin I. Goldman. College and Research Libraries 61:173-74.
  • Frické, Martin and Don Fallis. 2002. "Verifiable Health Information on the Internet." http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw02/papers/refereed/fallis/.
  • Recommended: Atkinson, Ross. 1996. "Library Functions, Scholarly Communication, and the Foundation of the Digital Library: Laying Claim to the Control Zone." Library Quarterly 66:239-65.

    • 9. Information Ethics and Epistemology

    • Goldman, Alvin. 1999. "Speech Regulation and the Marketplace of Ideas." Chapter 7 of Knowledge in a Social World (especially pages 189 to 194 and pages 209 to 217).
    • Goldman, Alvin. 2000. "Reply to Fallis." Social Epistemology 14:331-32.
    • McDowell, Ashley. 2002. "Trust and Information: The Role of Trust in the Social Epistemology of Information Science." Social Epistemology 16:51-63.
    • Recommended: Mill, John S. "Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion." On Liberty.
    • Recommended: Fallis, Don. 2004. "Epistemic Value Theory and Information Ethics." Minds and Machines 14:101-17.
    [return to top of page]


    COURSE REQUIREMENTS

    There are five components that go into the final course grade:

    Requirement
    		 Percentage of Final Grade
    Participation
    		 15%
    Midterm
    		 25%
    Group Presentation
    		 25%
    Application Project
    		 20%
    Article Analysis
    		 15%
    Note: All of the assignments in this course (including the midterm) will be due at 11:59pm Tucson time. I don't plan to start grading them at midnight; I just want to be sure that I have them in my hands when I get up the following morning.  By the way, Tucson is always on Mountain Standard Time (MST).
    Note: I do understand that group presentations, especially in a virtual course, present certain difficulties.  Please let me know if you are having any problems.
    Further details about these assignments (including due dates) will be provided in D2L.  All assignments must be submitted in HTML format.  Information about creating HTML documents is available at
    http://www.sir.arizona.edu/resources/computing.html#html .
    [return to top of page]


    COURSE POLICIES

    Academic Code of Integrity

    Students are expected to abide by the University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity.  'The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.'  If you have any questions regarding what is acceptable practice under this Code, please ask the Instructor.

    Accommodating Disabilities

    The University has a Disability Resource Center.  If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor, official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible.  Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.

    Assignment Policies

    Further details about turning in assignments will be posted in D2L.

    Incompletes

    The 1997-8 University of Arizona General Academic Manual (p.23) reads:

    The grade of I may be awarded only at the end of a semester, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of I is not to be awarded when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case the grade of E must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incompete grade before the end of the semester ... If the incomplete is not removed by the instructor within one year the I grade will revert to a failing grade.

    Incompletes will be given in this course only when exceptional circumstances beyond the student’s control prevent the student from completing  part of the course work. 

    [return to top of page]


    GRADING

    Final Grade
    		 Overall Percentage Score
    A
    		 90% and above
    B
    		 80% to 89%
    C
    		 70% to 79%
    D
    		 60% to 69%
    E
    		 59% and below

    Each assignment will be graded on a point system.  For example, you might receive 17 out of a possible 20 points on your Article Analysis.  At the end of the course, the points received on each of the five components will be aggregated (using the percentages discussed in the Course Requirements section) to yield an overall percentage score.  Students with scores of 90% and above will receive an A, those with scores between 80% and 89% will receive a B, those with scores between 70% and 79% will receive a C, etc. Further details about the grading of assignments will be postedn in D2L.

    [return to top of page]


    CONTACTING ME

    Office: SIRLS 14
    Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:30pm-3:00pm and by appointment.
    Telephone: 621-5223
    D2L email: fallis@d2l.ltc.arizona.edu
    Regular email: fallis@email.arizona.edu

    If you have questions for me about the course, post a message to the D2L discussion forums or send a message to my D2L email account.  (I prefer that you not use my regular email account for questions about the course.)  In addition, if you are going to be in Tucson, you can come to my office hours or set up an appointment.
    [return to top of page]