[Bilimsel Haber] CFP: Understanding the New Academy (3/15/06; collection)

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

From: Gregory Giberson <gagiberson@salisbury.edu>

Call for Proposals (edited collection)

Knowledge Economy: The Commodification of Knowledge and Information in the
Academic System

Tomas R. Giberson, Ph.D. Oakland University, Michigan
Gregory A. Giberson, Ph.D. Salisbury University, Maryland


We are seeking proposals for papers to be included in an edited collection
investigating the various ways the academic economy drives the purposes,
processes, and outcomes valued from Academics, individually and 
collectively. We
suggest that our behavior as academics is governed not only by our 
dedication to
our individual disciplines and our specific specialties but also is 
influenced
and often determined by varying professional, intellectual, social, and
political factors. These factors differ by the size, prominence, and 
mission of
our individual institutions, our tenure status, as well as the 
expectations of
our colleagues, students, administrators, and local communities. The 
competing
and often contradictory demands placed upon us are often at odds with the
traditional notions of liberal education that persist as traditional
performative facade, an idealization of the academy existing primarily 
in the
lore, rituals, and mission statements of most colleges and universities 
but not
always in the products faculty are expected to produce. As Jean Francois 
Lyotard
observed in The Postmodern Condition, "The question (overt or implied) 
now asked
by the professionalist student, the State, or institutions of higher 
education
is no longer 'Is it true?' but 'What use is it?" (51) Indeed, the "value" of
higher education has taken on new meaning, which often contradicts its
traditional goals: critical and intellectual development, and civic 
engagement

Members of all disciplines are invited to share thoughts, observations, and
experiences in each of the three traditional areas of academic work: 
teaching,
scholarship, and service. We also encourage submissions that address the
implications of the meta economy the interaction of these three areas on
individual and systemic behavior. Historically, these three areas of the
academic "job" are thought of as responsibilities defined in job 
descriptions
and position postings. However, teaching, scholarship, and service have 
become
commodities outcomes that enable academics to advance their careers and 
achieve
prominence among peers and administrators, who bestow the ultimate 
commodity for
individual faculty members, tenure and promotion. As commodities, these 
become
not the production of individual scholars and teachers, but units of 
value to be
held, traded, and bargained with by universities, corporations, 
publishers, and
degree holders to promote, trade, and sell.


Examples of questions that may be addressed include, but are not limited to:

Scholarship
          How has the commodification of knowledge influenced the 
research you
engage in and the scholarship you produce?
          How is your behavior as a scholar influenced by the "number" 
and/or
"quality" of publications required for tenure?
          How is your scholarly production consumed by the university 
and other
institutions and individuals and how does that influence you as a 
professional
academic?
          How has the increasing pressure to secure external funding through
grants and the like impacted what and how you conduct research and scholarly
inquiry?
          How does the pressure of publication affect the pedagogy within
graduate and undergraduate education?


Teaching
          How does/did your perception of the professional implications of
student evaluations influence your teaching in pursuit of tenure?
          How has your teaching been affected by the expectations of 
students,
peers, and administrators?
          How are your teaching strategies influenced by the number of
classes/students you teach in a given semester?
          How is your pedagogy influenced by the mission of your 
institution?
          How has your teaching been influenced by other external 
factors, local
or otherwise?

Service
          How do service requirements influence your work as a teacher 
and/or
scholar?
          How are service requirements for faculty accounted for in terms of
tenure and promotion by the institution?
          How do service requirements influence your behavior in 
productive and
non-productive committees?
          How do service commitments on the part of untenured faculty affect
their bid for tenure?


Other
         How are the actions of your institution influenced by national 
rankings
in teaching and research?
          How do federal, state, institutional, and unit-level budgets 
affect
your behavior as an academic?
          How has the academic economy forced you to compromise your 
personal and
professional goals?
          How have increasing expectations for productivity and 
assessment across
generations influenced your relationship with other faculty?


Given the sensitivity of the topics addressed, we will accept 
submissions from
authors who prefer their work to be published anonymously, particularly for
submissions from untenured faculty. However, your submission must include a
brief description of your institution, department, and your placement 
within the
tenure process, along with reasons why using your name with your submission
would cause problems. We hope that tenured faculty will want their names
attached to their submission.

We are seeking proposals of 500 words or less for chapters between 3,000 and
7,000 words. We welcome submissions from faculty, administrators and 
staff. The
deadline for submissions is March 15, 2006.

For questions or to submit a proposal: knowledge_economy@hotmail.com


***************************
Greg Giberson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Director of Freshman Composition
Director of the Eastern Shore Writing Project
Department of English
Salisbury University

410-677-5003
***************************




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