I am pretty sure I visited iSchool's page on Wikipedia before I got here in IST. "Schools of Information or iSchools are emergent academic programs committed to understanding the role of information in human endeavors and nature." It is so abstract a definition. The following explanation is more understandable for me: "The schools conduct research into the fundamental aspects of information and information technologies and into the relationships between people, information, and technology."
I think the most significant difference between iSchools and traditional departments and colleges is their target: iSchools are to study on the "relationships". This goal determined iSchools have to be interdisciplinary. Because when looking at relationship, it can not be just one part. It has to be communication, interaction and integration between multiple vertexes. Here in iSchools three vertexes are people, information and technology. So edges connecting them can be computer science, cognition science, economics, psychology, sociology, even philosophy. This interdisciplinarity is the most important reason that made me choose an iSchool when I was choosing my future graduate study. In such research environment we could see a computer scientist talking to a psychologist, a cognition researcher arguing with sociologist. I believe this kind of integrating can inspire new excellent ideas and thoughts. I am also very likely to study in such a school that can give me multiple points of view from various perspectives.
I am not sure who came first, iSchools or the idea that to study information, technology and people. There are several iSchools now. Most are in North America, founded in around the last two decades in 20th century. They do have some things in common - their names, all have "information". I guess it is because their main research orientations are towards "the fundamental aspects of information and information technologies". Yet they have different flavors. A few of the iSchools are founded separately, while some of them inherited their former school or college of library. Therefore some iSchools research is more focus on library sciences, the organization and dissemination of information resources. Yet there are some other iSchools have more degree of freedom in research areas besides LIS, lying on design, management and HCI etc.
Back to the title, I am now sitting in an iSchool's classroom, which I do not feel surprisingly. Interdisciplinary studying is what I am interested in. My background is purely Electronic Engineering, studying technology, dealing with information, but seldom considering people. Not satisfactory enough. That why I am here.
I think the most significant difference between iSchools and traditional departments and colleges is their target: iSchools are to study on the "relationships". This goal determined iSchools have to be interdisciplinary. Because when looking at relationship, it can not be just one part. It has to be communication, interaction and integration between multiple vertexes. Here in iSchools three vertexes are people, information and technology. So edges connecting them can be computer science, cognition science, economics, psychology, sociology, even philosophy. This interdisciplinarity is the most important reason that made me choose an iSchool when I was choosing my future graduate study. In such research environment we could see a computer scientist talking to a psychologist, a cognition researcher arguing with sociologist. I believe this kind of integrating can inspire new excellent ideas and thoughts. I am also very likely to study in such a school that can give me multiple points of view from various perspectives.
I am not sure who came first, iSchools or the idea that to study information, technology and people. There are several iSchools now. Most are in North America, founded in around the last two decades in 20th century. They do have some things in common - their names, all have "information". I guess it is because their main research orientations are towards "the fundamental aspects of information and information technologies". Yet they have different flavors. A few of the iSchools are founded separately, while some of them inherited their former school or college of library. Therefore some iSchools research is more focus on library sciences, the organization and dissemination of information resources. Yet there are some other iSchools have more degree of freedom in research areas besides LIS, lying on design, management and HCI etc.
Back to the title, I am now sitting in an iSchool's classroom, which I do not feel surprisingly. Interdisciplinary studying is what I am interested in. My background is purely Electronic Engineering, studying technology, dealing with information, but seldom considering people. Not satisfactory enough. That why I am here.
Leave a comment