[csaa-forum] cfp The Value of Knowledge conference

[Buettner, Angi]

Call for Papers: The Value of Knowledge

12-14 Feb 2007, at the Castlereagh Hotel, Sydney

(Furhter details from <www.inter-disciplinary.net>; follow "Conference
Projets" links)

This conference will address the explicit and implicit understandings of
the place of knowledge in contemporary society. Once upon a time the value
of "knowledge for its own sake" was taken for granted; indeed, it
represented the highest ideal of the progressive notion of education as a
process that not only taught "for" and "about" something, but, most
importantly, was deeply engaging as it enlightened and ennobled. Arguably,
in recent decades there has been a move away from that position, most
particularly so with respect to higher education. If true, what are the
values that currently underwrite the structures and practices of education,
especially in the tertiary sector? More broadly, what are the social and
cultural factors that underlie these values? These are very general
questions. Some indicative themes are suggested below to indicate the types
of issues that might be addressed in conference papers and workshops.

A. History.
How have things changed - and why? Has there been a change in the
philosophy of education and the valuing of knowledge - or is what we now
have merely an attrition of these? Is educational leadership unduly
pragmatic? What are the specific trends in contemporary education at high
school and university level that stand in need of being questioned? What is
the role of expediency at the coal face of learning?

B. Life-Long Learning.
What are the different meanings of the slogan "Life-Long Learning"? What
moral, practical and educational principles underlie this idea? Is "Adult
Education" still alive and well - and if so, what are its purpose and
standing in contemporary society? What about "The University of the Third
Age"? To what extent are these practices cognate in spirit with
contemporary formal education?

C. The Objectification of Knowledge.
Is knowledge a commodity? What, if anything, is the difference between
knowledge and information? Is teaching (still) a vocation? What is the
place of various types of credentials in contemporar
E. Improvements.
The above themes imply a critical approach to contemporary developments.
What are some of the good things that 

dr angi buettner
school of english & media studies
massey university
pn 241, private bag 11222
palmerston north, new zealand

e  a.buettner at massey.ac.nz
p  +64 6 350 5799 ext. 7278
f  +64 6 350 5672