Fundamentals of Scholarship

Catalog description

This course will explore what it means to approach academic study across different disciplines like a scholar.  As we learn to distinguish among critical, reflective, and creative thinking, we will investigate such questions as: what counts as knowledge, and how does it relate to information? What does “scholarship as conversation” and “research as inquiry” mean? How do research, scholarship, and knowledge inform practice? What does a history of academic thought tell us about the way today’s scholars think, create, and form community?  What cultural and political impact do scholars have on society? Class activities include lecture, discussion, collaborative projects, and peer review. Assignments include essays, bibliographies, inquiry-motivated topic selection, problem identification, and presentations. Guest speakers will include scholars from fields of study across the social, natural, and health sciences, as well as from business and engineering.