The Academy for Teaching and Learning at Baylor University invited me to give two talks on the value of creating and nurturing online digital scholarly communities on April 19, 2018. The two presentations afforded me an opportunity to consider the role online scholarly communities might play in helping us address broader cultural challenges we are facing in higher education.
The Meaning and Value of Digital Scholarly Communities
April 19 | 10:30-11:30am | Jones Library 200
My visit to Baylor occurred during a very difficult period of trauma at Michigan State University in the wake of institutional and cultural failures associated with sexual abuse on campus. Being at Baylor and having lived through the abuse scandal at Penn State, the broader cultural issues to which we in higher education need to come to terms was very much on my mind. As a result, you will hear in this presentation the struggle associated with aligning values with practices. As I discuss ways to embody and cultivate digital communities of scholarship, I emphasize the importance of candor, vulnerability, and accountability as core principles of academic culture that need to be advocated for and embodied.
Creating and Sustaining Digital Scholarly Communities
April 19 | 3:30-4:30pm | Marrs McLean Science 101
This presentation was given in the form of a Tweet storm in order to perform the open scholarship for which the presentation argues. In it I address some the broader questions of how we might cultivate more supportive cultures of scholarship in higher education. This was my first experiment with a Tweet storm presentation. The format is designed to invite a broader conversation on the questions raised in the presentation. By posting the material here, I hope to open another space for discussion about the issues raised in the presentation.
Today at @Baylor as we consider how to create and sustain digital scholarly communities, we are thinking about how we might cultivate a more caring culture across higher education. To engage a broader public, this #DigiScholarBU presentation takes the form of a tweetstorm. pic.twitter.com/o09uRbpGUc
— Chris Long (@cplong) April 19, 2018
As an institution, #MSU is experiencing a human trauma that requires human responses. Let us hold firm now to the commitments we made in January. https://t.co/fl4B4DnaiO #GoTeal pic.twitter.com/pMBXhHBxKR
— Chris Long (@cplong) April 19, 2018
During this very painful period at #MSU, we are committing ourselves in our daily interactions with one another to being more candid and genuine so we might begin to create a culture of trust and accountability. https://t.co/6m86yFSNqx #SpartanDeans pic.twitter.com/dGdsvOpHOe
— Chris Long (@cplong) April 19, 2018
The @HuMetricsHSS initiative is a values-based framework that empowers scholars to tell more textured stories about the impact of their work. Co-PIs of our @MellonFdn project: @terrainsvagues @rrkennison @simosacchi @jasonrhody @skonkiel & Penny Weber. https://t.co/p3BUtjOhcA
— Chris Long (@cplong) April 19, 2018
At its heart, #HuMetricsHSS seeks to enable scholars to identify ways of measuring the impact of their work as they chart unique pathways of intellectual leadership. https://t.co/X6EDarxiCQ pic.twitter.com/qAr4yX1y6s
— Chris Long (@cplong) April 19, 2018
The pilot for #HuMetricsHSS has focused on re-evaluating the value of value, exploring syllabi as artifacts & indicators of scholarship, & measuring collegiality by tracking the helpfulness of peer review suggestions integrated into published articles. https://t.co/jgASQXSRu7 pic.twitter.com/P8jAFT5oEQ
— Chris Long (@cplong) April 19, 2018
The @PubPhilJ began with a vision of publishing as a way to practice public philosophy. It has developed into a publishing community that seeks to advance the public good by engaging publics in the practices of scholarship. https://t.co/tflOKa1N5o pic.twitter.com/V1WRaDsvaC
— Chris Long (@cplong) April 19, 2018
The @PubPhilJ seeks to shift our scholarly focus from evaluative to formative review; from an approach in which we seek to tear down and find flaw, to one in which we seek to enrich, support, and nurture the scholarship we share. https://t.co/ARyY5GUbxs pic.twitter.com/zeVuYz3reU
— Chris Long (@cplong) April 19, 2018
We at #msudh are working collaboratively across #MSU to embody the values of openness, equity, and accountability. The practices of enriching scholarship in a digital age require us to create & support an infrastructure of academic candor & care. https://t.co/xhr3IJK42y pic.twitter.com/HCvdCdKOsK
— Chris Long (@cplong) April 19, 2018
After a violent July storm downed a 350 year old white oak in 2016, Frank Telewski, curator of the MSU arboretum, saw the life that perseveres. The #ResilientTree has become a vital symbol for our campus during this period of intense transformation. https://t.co/yVhaqh9x0H pic.twitter.com/p1zdxcfw3T
— Chris Long (@cplong) April 19, 2018
