Instructor: Jens-Erik Mai

Phone: 416.978.7097

Email: je.mai@utoronto.ca

Office: Bissell Building, rm 636

Office hours: By appointment

Class meets Tuesday @ 1pm in BL 113

[About]  [Schedule]  [Assignments]  [Resources]  [Readings]

About the seminar

The purpose and content of this course is in the course catalog described as: “Historical and comparative analysis of theories, principles and methods of classification and of knowledge organization in general (e.g., categorization, taxonomy, ontology). Analysis and development of such systems for various domains. Examination of social, cognitive, and linguistic foundations of classification systems."

The recent explosion in the number and variation of information services underline the need for effective methods for representing and organizing information.  The construction and use of practical and efficient systems for the organization and representation of documents is dependent on a comprehensive understanding not only of the technical side of such systems, but also of human perception, language, and cognition.  This course will give the basic theoretical and philosophical knowledge necessary to understand, create, and analyze classificatory structures.  The course will explore a range of fields of study for explanations of classificatory structures but the focus will be on bibliographic classification systems.

Students will gain understandings of:

• Different classification theories from various fields of study.

• Different classification methods and systems and their possibilities and limitations.

• The interdisciplinary nature of classification research and practice.

Please also see some general notes about my courses.

Schedule
 

Assignments

Participation, 20% of final grade. 
This is a discussion course.  I expect everyone to actively participate in the in-class discussions; the course will only be successful if everyone takes part in the learning and the discussions.  

Discussion leader, twice during term, each worth 10% of final grade.
Each of you are responsible for leading two in-class sessions.  Each student is assigned readings for a particular day, and even though there might be more students for any particular day, this is not a group project.  When leading the discussion, you can pick a few key concepts, a particular topic, an interesting observation, or summarize the readings.  The purpose of the discussion is to expand the class' understanding of the readings.  How you do that is up to you.  I do expect each student to produce a brief hand-out (no more than 1 page) for the class, but remember that the goal is to get the class to critically discuss the reading - don't spend too much time on presentation (a few minutes should be enough). 

Paper, including presentation, 60% of final grade. 
For the final paper students can explore any topic or issue within classification research and theory.  Possible topics include (but are not limited to) critical analyses of:

• a particular classification or categorization system
• a particular concept within classification theory
• classification/categorization from a particular cultural or theoretical standpoint
• classification/categorization of specific material/objects/ideas
• classification/categorization for specific purposes or people

Please discuss topics that don't deal with organization of information issues with me before you submit a proposal for such a paper.

Proposal
Please give me (via e-mail or on paper) a proposal (200-400 words) for a paper along with a provisional list of references by Thursday Feb. 19. 

Sharing of paper topics
Please share your selected topic with the class on Tuesday Feb. 24.

Presentation
Present a working draft of your paper to the class.  You will be given a total of 30-45 min. to present you paper.  I suggest that you use 10 min. to present your work and the remaining time for Q&A and discussion.  The goal of your presentation should be to generate a discussion that can help you finish the paper.

Please send an abstract or short description of your paper to the class discussion list no later than the day before your presentation.

Final paper
The final paper is due Tuesday April 14 @ 10am; you can slip the paper under my office door.  The paper cannot be turned in as an e-mail or as an attachment to an e-mail. 

The paper should be double-spaced, single paged, Times Roman font 12, stapled in the upper left corner, and be 4,000-5,000 words in length.  Make sure that your paper follows a standard citation practice (such as Chicago, APA, MLA) and organize your paper as if you were submitting it to a research journal within information science (such as JASIST, IPM, J.Doc., KO, LQ).  Please review the material you covered in Cite it Right, familiarize yourself with this site and UofT's policy, and consult the writing centre, if necessary.  Lastly, here is a general statement on what I look for in a paper.   

 

Resources

Epistemological Lifeboat

"The Epistemological Lifeboat is an attempt to guide students and researchers into the complex field of epistemology/philosophy of science. It is intended as a “lifeboat” or a “philosophy for dummies”. It is obviously not enough for serious studies, but it provides an overview and refers the reader to further sources of information."

Lifeboat for Knowledge Organization

Birger Hjørland's comprehensive dictionary of KO terms and ideas.

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences

"This Encyclopedia is the first attempt in a generation to map the social and behavioral sciences on a grand scale."

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

"Most of the articles in The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy are original contributions by specialized philosophers around the Internet"

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy

"Comprehensive resource. Articles from all continents, all periods and cultures."

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

"From its inception, the SEP was designed so that each entry is maintained and kept up to date by an expert or group of experts in the field. All entries and substantive updates are refereed by the members of a distinguished Editorial Board before they are made public."

Wikipedia

Never a bad place to begin...
 

Readings

Note:  All readings are on reserve in the Inforum.

Borges, Jorge Luis. 1973. The Analytical Language of John Wilkins. In: Other Inquisitions 1937-1952. London: Souvenir Press. (p. 101-105).

Bowker, Geoffrey C. & Susan Leigh Star. 1999. Sorting Things Out: Classification and its Consequences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
["Introduction: To Classify is Human" (p. 1-32); Chap. 1, "Some Tricks of the Trade in Analyzing Classification" (p. 33-50); Chap. 2, "The Kindness of Strangers: Kinds and Politics in Classification Systems" (p. 53-106)]

Broadfield,  A. 1946.  The Philosophy of Classification.  London: Grafton. 
[Chap. 1, "Likeness" (p. 1-18); Chap. 2, "Things and Their Kinds" (p. 19-40); Chap. 3, "Evolution" (p. 41-68); Chap. 4, "Consensus" (p. 69-79); & Chap. 5, "Purpose" (p. 80-97)]

Bryant, Rebecca. 2000. Discovery and Decision: Exploring the Metaphysics and Epistemology of Scientific Classification. Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses. 
[Chap. 1, "Introduction: Complexity and the Natural World" (p. 15-19); Chap. 2, "Objectivism" (p. 20- 28); Chap. 3, "Internal Realism I" (p. 29-37); Chap. 4, "Internal Realism II: Criticism and Implications" (p. 38-50); Chap. 5 "The Psychology of Categorization" (p. 50-65); Chap. 6, "Philosophy and the Psychology of Categorization" (p. 66-72); Chap. 7, "Five Interrelated Theses: The Theory Explained" (p. 73-87); Chap. 8, "Philosophical Contexts I: Critiques of Natural Kinds" (p. 88-97); Chap. 9, "Philosophical Contexts II: Contemporary Philosophy of Biology" (p. 98-110); & Chap. 10, "Concluding Remarks: Limitations and Classification" (p. 111-116)]

Dolby, R.G.A. 1979. Classification of the Sciences: The Nineteenth Century Tradition. In: Classifications in their Social Context, ed. Roy F. Ellen & David Reason, 167-193. New York: Academic Press.

Ereshefsky, Marc. 2001. The Poverty of the Linnaean Hierarchy: A Philosophical Study of Biological Taxonomy. New York: Cambridge University Press.
[Chap. 1, "The Philosophy of Classification" (p. 15-49); Chap. 2, "A Primer to Biological Taxonomy" (50-93); Chap. 3, "History and Classification" (p. 94-128)]

Foskett, D.J. 1958. Library Classification and the the Field of Knowledge. London: Chaucer House.

Lakoff, George. 1987. Women, Fire and Dangerous Things:  What Categories Reveal About the Mind. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press. 
["Preface" (p. xi-xvii); Chap. 1, "The Importance of Categorization" (p. 5-11); Chap. 2, "From Wittgenstein to Roach" (p. 12-57); Chap. 3, "Prototype Effects in Language" (p. 58-67); Chap. 4, "Idealized Cognitive Models" (p. 68-76); Chap. 5, "Metonymic Models" (p. 77-90); Chap. 6, "Radial Categories" (p. 91-114); Chap. 7, "Features, Stereotypes, and Defaults" (p. 115-117); Chap. 8, "More about Cognitive Models" (p. 118-135); Chap. 10, "Defenders of the Classical View" (p. 136-152); & Chap. 10, "Review" (p. 153-154)]

Mills, Jack. 1964. A Modern Outline of Library Classification.  London: Chapman & Hall. 

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