Last revised 04/24/01 (PR).
Meets Fridays 12-1:30 in 311 West Hall (Informal lunch at 11:30)
Project listings
Schedule
CourseTools
(for discussion and other nice features: access restricted)
This 1-credit seminar course offers reading, reflection, and social networking experiences for students who are engaged in projects or considering careers as public interest informationists, (i.e., organizing information flows in support of communal and public needs). Many students will enroll concurrently in some kind of project work, either through a Directed Field Experience (DFE), an independent study, or a workshop course.
We will read about and discuss theories of community, civil society, and the role of the non-profit sector, and draw connections with project work (reading and reflection). There will also be frequent opportunities to learn about other students' projects and to meet some of the national leaders of the community information movement (social networking) and possibly travel to relevant conferences and workshops. At the end of this course, students who are interested in pursuing careers in the community information movement should have enough information and connections to begin a job search in this area.
This seminar also serves as a focal point for the School of Information's Community Information Corps, a loosely organized interest group of faculty, doctoral and master's students, and outside "friends". Several faculty are planning to attend frequently, and students who do not wish to sign up for credit are welcome to come for those sessions that they find interesting.
You are encouraged to participate for multiple semesters (you can take it for credit up four times); while we'll keep revisiting similar themes, there will be minimal overlap in the readings and guests.
Early in each semester, there will be announcements about project opportunities with faculty and Directed Field Experience opportunities. Students will be encouraged to reflect on their project experiences in the class. Academic credit for these projects, however, will not be arranged through this class. DFEs will be administered through Karen Jordan. Workshop courses have their own course numbers. Other projects will be arranged as independent study directly with the supervising faculty member.
None.
After participating in SI 575, you should be able to:
Throughout our examination of these ideas, we will keep returning to implications for the roles of information professionals.
We will keep returning to these big ideas each semester, but usually with somewhat different readings and guests to guide our exploration.
Readings will be handed out in class, or available on the Web. You will need to read materials before class so that we can have lively discussion (see reaction paper assignments below).
This is a 1-credit class. Class meets for an hour and a half each week. You should spend, on average, about two and a half hours each week outside of class, doing the following:
If you find a conference that's worth going to that and that you think will help you in assessing job prospects or developing project ideas for future semesters, you can ask me for travel funds.
This class must be elected pass/fail (satisfactory/unsatisfactory). This is not a class that lends itself to conventional grading.
Fridays 11-12AM and 1:30-2:30PM. It's a good idea to call in advance or send email, as there are a few days when I'll have to miss office hours.
This schedule is likely to be juggled significantly after the semester begins. Please consult the online version for the latest.
Date | Topic | Guest | Project Status Report | Readings |
5-Jan | Intro | Dr. Ray Shortridge, Girls, Inc. | ||
12-Jan | Roles for Information Systems in Building Social Capital | Kate Lockwood, BetterTogether.org | Resnick, Paul. Beyond Bowling Together: SocioTechnical Capital. | |
19-Jan | The Digital Divide: Access | Falling Through The Net IV | ||
26-Jan | Local Employer Panel (Organized by JoAnna Kroll) | |||
WED 31-Jan | free lunch with social work, urban planning students | 11:45-1:15, 311 West Hall | ||
2-Feb | Technical Assistance for non-profits | Jennifer Bright, Director of National Outreach, NPower | Cliff Lampe, ASP initiative |
www.npower.org Sample
Business Plan; |
9-Feb | The Changing World of Philanthropy | Gail McClure, Kellogg Foundation | ||
16-Feb | Technical Assistance for non-profits: circuit riding | Tim Mills-Groninger, ITRC | A "circuit rider's" travelogue | |
23-Feb | The Digital Divide: Content | Chris Hamilton, Karen Scheurer, and Erica Olsen, IMLS research project with Prof. Joan Durrance (tentative) | Online Content for Low-Income and Underserved Americans (Children's Partnership Report) | |
2-March | Spring Break--No class | |||
9-March | (In)equality: Definitions | Professor John Chamberlin, UM School of Public Policy |
Laurel Sandor, Detroit Library CTC (tentative) | Deborah Stone, "Policy Paradox and Political Reason", pp. 30-48 |
16-March | Deliberative Polls I | Critiques and responses on the idea of "Deliberative Polls" | ||
23-March | Deliberative Polls Online: An Exploration | Professors James Fishkin and Robert Luskin, University of Texas |
Carrie Auster, legislative forums and issue forums project with cyberstate.org | |
30-March | Information Resources for Non-profits | Jillaine Smith, managing editor, Nonprofit Resources | Steve Herrick, Kate Lockwood, and Vlad Wieldbut on ACT's "Knowledge Works" infrastructure, using Zope | Helping.org web site |
6-April | The Role of Citizens | Megan Kinney, CHICO cultural heritage projects | Michael Sandel, "Democracy's Discontent", pps. 3-24, 317-351 | |
13-April | Reflections and planning | Krissa Rumsey, Detroit CTC conference trip report Nancy Brigham, non-profits and Internet QoS |