PRESENTATION

There are a number of important connections between social epistemology and information science.  The topics that are explicitly covered on the syllabus only scratch the surface.  In the last few weeks of the semester, groups of four will give presentations on some topic within the scope of social epistemology and information science.  The idea is that, through the group presentations, we will all get an even broader exposure to the field than the assigned readings provide.

There are a couple of possibilities for this assignment.  First, you can do a more in-depth investigation of some topic that is covered only briefly on the syllabus.  Second, you can investigate some topic that is not covered on the syllabus.  Either way, you will need to find references that go beyond those cited on the syllabus.

Note: Library Literature, Library and Information Science Abstracts, and the Philosopher's Index are good places to start looking for material.  Also, there is an issue of the interdisciplinary journal Social Epistemology on the topic of "Social Epistemology and Information Science".  Finally, a number of articles on this topic are cited in the lectures.

Details

The group presentations will be web sites that will be hosted on WebCT. Each group should think of their presentation as their own virtual lecture. Among other things, this means that group members should respond to questions and comments about their presentation. In fact, as part of the group presentation grade, each student must post a question or a comment about at least three of the other presentations.

You will create your presentation in collaboration with three other members of the class. You can choose your own partners.  In order to facilitate the formation of groups, I have set up a “Forming Groups” discussion forum.  So, you could form a group by, for example, sending a message expressing your interest in a particular topic and asking who else might have similar interests. In addition, I have included the “Chat” facility on the WebCT Homepage for this class. The “Chat” facility may also come in handy when you are working on your presentations.  Also, I can create a private discussion forum for the members of your group.

Let me know when you have formed a group and I will create web space for your group in the “Presentations” area. This is where the presentations will be posted.  In addition, I will create a public discussion forum for the class to discuss your group’s presentation.

Let me know once your group has settled on a topic. Each group must get my approval on the topic of its presentation.

The presentations will take place during the last few weeks of the semester. Each group will post their presentation on a different day. The presentation must be posted by 11:59pm MST on the designated day. That way the rest of the class will be able to access the presentation on the following day.

Groups can sign up for any of the following dates: April 14, April 16, April 19, April 21, April 23, April 26, April 28, April 30.  Once you have consulted with the other members of your group, one of you should send me a message via WebCT Mail with at least a couple of possible dates. I will try to accommodate everyone's preferences as well as I can.

Contact John Stanton if you have technical problems with WebCT (e.g., if you have trouble posting your presentation to WebCT, if you have trouble contacting the other members of your group, etc.).

Please send me questions about this assignment via the "Group Presentation Questions" forum or via my WebCT Mail.