Special Topics in Information Science: Knowledge Infrastructures and Management

Infrastructure is all around us, even (or perhaps especially) where we do not actively consider or account for it. In this course, students will learn how knowledge infrastructures such as repositories, classification systems, databases, networks, standards, and/or metadata both shape and are shaped by governmental policy, institutional decision making, technical advances, and professional and personal value systems. We consider how infrastructure matters in professional, personal, and political life, and employ infrastructure as a lens to evaluate and understand the legal, ethical, and policy consequences of knowledge work, data science, and information management. In this course, students will employ an infrastructural perspective to evaluate programs, systems, policies, and/or organizations. We will explore the consequences and societal impact of knowledge work at both global and local scales, and consider how infrastructure might be built or refined to support societal or organizational goals such as social justice, privacy, innovation, health, or security. This is primarily a discussion-oriented course, with assessment primarily coming through a multi-stage, semester-long, project oriented around a program evaluation.