Social Studies 236 - Classification,Taxonomies,Folksonomies:Tagging the World

Institution:

Bard College

Subject:

Description:

This course examines the kinds of unconscious cultural assumptions that result from systems of organizing knowledge. For example, in the 1880s, as the library was becoming an increasingly central repository for knowledge, Melvil Dewey created a "scientific system" for the organizationof all current and, he believed, future knowledge. The two assumptions in his system were that he had created the best system for organizing all existing knowledge and that any knowledge that could not be fit into it was, by his definition, irrelevant. It wasn't until the 1920s that an increasing number of writers and librarians argued that Dewey's system was, in fact, one of exclusion. Now, with the ubiquity of search engines such as Google that provide access to the expanding universe of the Web, systems for classifying information have emerged that are increasingly fluid and dynamic. This course examines these systems, with their own inherent biases and limitations, and considers the sociocultural impact of classification systems in general.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.bard.edu

Phone Number:

(845) 758-6822

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

The Course Profile information is provided and updated by third parties including the respective institutions. While the institutions are able to update their information at any time, the information is not independently validated, and no party associated with this website can accept responsibility for its accuracy.