Nordic Research School in Library and Information Science

Workshop II: Discourse-Oriented Approaches in LIS

We invite Ph.D. students and senior researchers to participate in a workshop on discourse-oriented approaches in LIS. The workshop will discuss discourse-oriented approaches in a friendly atmosphere as they are carried out in various fields of application in LIS, such as policy research, library research, information literacy, document studies, knowledge organisation, information seeking, institutional interaction, science and technology studies, and computer-mediated communication.

We invite both Ph.D. students and senior researchers with experience of discourse-oriented approaches as well as those without previous experience. The particular discourse-oriented approaches used by the workshop participants could be exemplified with, but should not be seen as limited to, discourse analysis, ethnography, narrative analysis, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis.

During the last decades we have witnessed an increasing awareness of the importance of language in LIS. Discourse-oriented approaches have emerged as one set of framework for research in LIS, not least in the Nordic countries, which are sensitive to language and power relations. Language is to an increasing extent seen as a tool for action in the shaping of social reality rather than a medium that relates the cognitive state of the individual with external reality. The workshop will create opportunities for discussing discourse-oriented approaches from a broad and inclusive perspective; from theoretical, methodological and empirical vantage points.

The workshop will be based on the Ph.D. students' and senior researchers' presentations and discussions. Invited talks and presentations by the participants are given equal weight in the workshop program in order to provide ample time for constructive and supportive dialogue between the workshop participants. There will be rich possibilities for the participants to present questions, test ideas concerning their ongoing research, as well as to get feedback on papers, research plans and empirical materials.

Main organizer:
Dr. Olof Sundin, Department for Cultural Sciences, Lund University , Sweden ( olof.sundin@kult.lu.se )

Co-organizers:
Professor Sanna Talja, Department of Information Studies, University of Tampere ( sanna.talja@uta.fi )

Dr Jenny Johannisson, Swedish School of Library and Information Science, University College of Borås ( jenny.johannisson@hb.se )

Invited speaker:
Associate Professor Pamela J. McKenzie, University of Western Ontario

Time:
2007, November 22-24

Location:
Lund , Sweden at the Department for Cultural Sciences, Biskopsgatan 7

Accomodation:
Suggestions will be presented closer to the workshop.

Application deadline:
September 15th, 2007. The applicants will receive notification of acceptance/rejection by 1st October by e-mail.

Credits:
The workshop seminar is accredited 3 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System). Doctoral candidates are required to submit the extended abstract mentioned below, to give a presentation of their research and to be an active participant in the discussions. Note: Final credits are decided by the person in charge of the local Ph.D. program.

How to apply:
Participants are asked to submit an extended abstract (max. 2500 words) of the topic(s) of the workshop based on ongoing or completed research. The application should also include a brief CV. This information will be used for selection purposes.

The application should be electronically submitted in either Word or RTF-format to Olof Sundin (olof.sundin@kult.lu.se ).

For NorsLIS doctoral students: The application must contain the following information:

Name of workshop:
Last name:
First name:
Birth date:
Male/female:
E-mail address:
Estimated travel costs:
Name of supervisor:
Supervisor's e-mail address:

Participation is primarily reserved for Ph.D. students registered at one of the 15 NORSLIS departments. Provided that there is room for more participants, Ph.D. students from outside the NORSLIS departments in addition to researchers and lecturers at the NORSLIS departments, are welcome to participate. However, only NORSLIS doctoral students are eligible for NORSLIS travel and accommodation grants.

Reimbursement of travel and accomodation costs