AlekÂsanÂdr SolzhenÂitÂsyn, who chronÂiÂcled the abusÂes of the SoviÂet regime and gained worldÂwide fame with A Day in the Life of Ivan DenisoÂvich, has died at 89. (Get the New York Times obit here.) Once asked what SolzhenÂitÂsyn means to litÂerÂaÂture and the hisÂtoÂry of RusÂsia, David RemÂnick, the ediÂtor of The New YorkÂer, had this to stay: “It’s imposÂsiÂble to imagÂine a writer whose affect on a sociÂety has been greater than AlekÂsanÂdr SolzhenÂitÂsyn’s affect on the fate of RusÂsia …” In the video postÂed below, RemÂnick elabÂoÂrates on SolzhenÂitÂsyn’s conÂtriÂbuÂtions, and it’s worth rememÂberÂing that RemÂnick won a Pulitzer durÂing the 90s for his bestÂseller, Lenin’s Tomb.
Here’s J.K. RowlÂing speakÂing with eloÂquence at HarÂvard’s gradÂuÂaÂtion, 2008. You’ll find a litÂtle wit (although far difÂferÂent than the kind on disÂplay when Sacha Baron Cohen — a.k.a. Ali G & Borat — spoke at HarÂvard gradÂuÂaÂtion fesÂtivÂiÂties in 2004). And then there’s the sage advice that she disÂpensÂes. Some good thoughts on why sucÂcess is ultiÂmateÂly predÂiÂcatÂed on failÂure (thoughts that call to mind Steve Jobs’ now famous talk at StanÂford), and why we need to exerÂcise the powÂer of imagÂiÂnaÂtion — and empaÂthy — in the broadÂest sense. We have othÂer fine gradÂuÂaÂtion speechÂes postÂed below.
YesÂterÂday, HarÂvard UniÂverÂsiÂty passed a motion (see proÂposÂal here) that will require its facÂulÂty memÂbers to pubÂlish their scholÂarÂly artiÂcles online. On the face of things, this marks a big vicÂtoÂry for the open access moveÂment, which is all about makÂing inforÂmaÂtion free and accesÂsiÂble to all. In realÂiÂty, howÂevÂer, the real winÂner may evenÂtuÂalÂly be HarÂvard’s library budÂget (and the future of scholÂarÂship itself).
One of the figÂures behind the openÂing of HarÂvard’s scholÂarÂship is Robert DarnÂton, an emiÂnent hisÂtoÂriÂan who now overÂsees HarÂvard’s libraries. And, in a piece called The Case for Open Access, DarnÂton underÂscores how digÂiÂtal pubÂlishÂing can relieve some imporÂtant finanÂcial presÂsures on the acadÂeÂmy. Under the curÂrent pubÂlishÂing modÂel, acaÂdÂeÂmics write artiÂcles for scholÂarÂly jourÂnals and then the jourÂnals get sold back to the uniÂverÂsiÂty libraries at exorÂbiÂtant prices, with some costÂing more than $20,000 per year. And here the real probÂlem begins: “in order to purÂchase the jourÂnals, libraries have had to reduce their acquiÂsiÂtions of monoÂgraphs; the reduced demand among libraries for monoÂgraphs has forced uniÂverÂsiÂty pressÂes to cut back on the pubÂliÂcaÂtion of them; and the near imposÂsiÂbilÂiÂty of pubÂlishÂing their disÂserÂtaÂtions has jeopÂarÂdized the careers of a whole genÂerÂaÂtion of scholÂars in many fields.” DigÂiÂtal pubÂlishÂing solves this spiÂralÂing probÂlem in a straightÂforÂward way. The cost of pubÂlishÂing directÂly to the web is negÂliÂgiÂble. There’s no pulp to buy, no pubÂlishÂer’s overÂhead to pay; no corÂpoÂraÂtion (e.g., Reed ElseÂviÂer, the ownÂer of many scholÂarÂly jourÂnals) lookÂing to pad its profÂits and get thanked by Wall Street. The cost savÂings are everyÂwhere.
The traÂdiÂtionÂal pubÂlishÂers will be quick to point out a flaw in the digÂiÂtal pubÂlishÂing modÂel — nameÂly, that it genÂerÂalÂly means workÂing outÂside of a peer-review sysÂtem that ensures the overÂall integriÂty of research. But my sense is that there’s no reaÂson that digÂiÂtal pubÂlishÂing and peer review can’t go togethÂer. It’s not hard to imagÂine ways in which conÂvenÂtionÂal forms of peer review could be preÂserved. But digÂiÂtal pubÂlishÂing also makes posÂsiÂble new forms of peer review that didÂn’t exist before. PubÂlishÂing to the web will almost necÂesÂsarÂiÂly increase the overÂall readÂerÂship of artiÂcles, which will encourÂage more fact checkÂing and critÂiÂcal comÂmenÂtary in turn. And, because we’re pubÂlishÂing on the web, these scholÂarÂly artiÂcles can become livÂing docÂuÂments that get betÂter over time. It’s a new way of doing things. It may take a genÂerÂaÂtion to get all the kinks worked out and habits changed. But we will get there.
As a final aside, if you’re interÂestÂed in the Open EduÂcaÂtionÂal Resources (OER) moveÂment, then you’ll want to check this new site sponÂsored by the Hewlett FounÂdaÂtion. It aggreÂgates blogs that regÂuÂlarÂly focus on all things OER, offerÂing you a great startÂing point for readÂing in this area.
In case you missed it, The New York Times pubÂlished a lengthy artiÂcle —The PolÂiÂtics of God— last weekÂend which essenÂtialÂly traces how the thought of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and othÂer major politÂiÂcal philosoÂphers gave us secÂuÂlar polÂiÂtics, and parÂticÂuÂlarÂly the sepÂaÂraÂtion of Church and State. They’re innoÂvaÂtions with many upsides, but also the downÂside that they put us at an intelÂlecÂtuÂal disÂtance from entire regions where faith still govÂerns politÂiÂcal affairs. This includes large swathes of the MidÂdle East and othÂer areas withÂin the “MusÂlim orbit.” It’s a good piece to read if you’ve ever wonÂdered how phiÂlosÂoÂphy tanÂgiÂbly shapes our modÂern world. WritÂten by Mark LilÂla, a ColumÂbia UniÂverÂsiÂty proÂfesÂsor, the highÂly-readÂable artiÂcle is adaptÂed from his new book, The StillÂborn God: ReliÂgion, PolÂiÂtics, and the ModÂern West. Get the artiÂcle here, and don’t forÂget to subÂscribe to our feed.
In 2003, the HarÂvard biolÂoÂgist E.O. WilÂson wrote a wideÂly read essay that called for an “EncyÂcloÂpeÂdia of Life.” Summed up simÂply, WilÂson had in mind “an online refÂerÂence source and dataÂbase” that catÂaÂlogued “every one of the 1.8 milÂlion species that are named and known on this planÂet,” not to menÂtion the many organÂisms that aren’t yet known. When fulÂly comÂpiled, the web-based dataÂbase would offer a “macroÂscope” of sorts, a way to do comÂparÂaÂtive biolÂoÂgy and ecolÂoÂgy on an unpreceÂdentÂed scale, allowÂing sciÂenÂtists to gain new insights into the immense bioÂdiÂverÂsiÂty of our planÂet.
WilÂson is still pushÂing this vision, and he laid it out most recentÂly at the TED Talks conÂferÂence in MonÂterey, CalÂiÂforÂnia. (Watch the video below.) The enviÂsioned encyÂcloÂpeÂdia will be a colÂlabÂoÂraÂtive enterÂprise, modÂeled someÂwhat along the lines of Wikipedia (see some demonÂstraÂtion pages here). And it’ll be accesÂsiÂble anyÂwhere, anyÂtime, to whoÂevÂer could benÂeÂfit from it. It’s expectÂed to take close to a decade to comÂplete the project, although some key comÂpoÂnents of the dataÂbase will be availÂable in 2008. (See this FAQ for more details.)
For more inforÂmaÂtion on E.O. WilÂson, I would encourÂage you to lisÂten to Bill MoyÂers’ proÂfile of WilÂson (iTunes — Feed — MP3) which recentÂly aired on PBS. You may also want to give some attenÂtion to Wilson’s latÂest book, The CreÂation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth.
AmerÂiÂca’s 42nd presÂiÂdent spoke this weekÂend at HarÂvard’s Class Day, a traÂdiÂtionÂal event held for gradÂuÂatÂing seniors. While Class Day often feaÂtures pop icons and comeÂdiÂans — take this speech by Ali G from a few yeas ago — ClinÂton’s speech was a bit more seriÂous and ideÂalÂisÂtic, and it reminds us that there may be again a day when we can look to the White House for subÂstance and inspiÂraÂtion. This too shall pass. You can watch Part 1 of his preÂsenÂtaÂtion below. Here are links to Parts 2 and 3.
It was only a quesÂtion of when, not if. HarÂvard has finalÂly carved out a space, albeit a rather small one,
on iTunes. (See yesÂterÂday’s press release.) EstabÂlished by the HarÂvard ExtenÂsion School, the iTunes site curÂrentÂly feaÂtures one free, full-fledged course called UnderÂstandÂing ComÂputÂers and the InterÂnet, which had preÂviÂousÂly been issued in othÂer digÂiÂtal forÂmats. (See our preÂviÂous artiÂcle.) In addiÂtion, you can notably access outÂtakes from 30 comÂplete coursÂes that the school will offer online, for a fee, durÂing the spring acaÂdÂeÂmÂic term. These coursÂes fall into three neat catÂeÂgories: libÂerÂal arts, manÂageÂment and comÂputÂer sciÂence.
HarÂvard’s iTunes stratÂeÂgy is rather unique. While most major uniÂverÂsiÂties are simÂply givÂing away podcasts/information, HarÂvard ExtenÂsion is eviÂdentÂly using the Apple platÂform more for busiÂness purÂposÂes than for pubÂlic serÂvice. In a vacÂuÂum, it’s not a bad idea. In fact, seen in a cerÂtain light, it’s pretÂty savvy. Why not offer teasers to genÂerÂate more sales for sophisÂtiÂcatÂed online coursÂes? Why not give cusÂtomers a real sense of what they’re getÂting into? If there’s a probÂlem with these ideas, it’s simÂply that they risk clashÂing with existÂing expecÂtaÂtions — expecÂtaÂtions that uniÂverÂsiÂties offer podÂcasts for free and for the pubÂlic good. And there’s the risk that iTunes users will fail to make a critÂiÂcal disÂtincÂtion between your averÂage free podÂcast, and a podÂcast that’s realÂly meant to be part of a comÂplete, fee-based online course. One way or anothÂer, the busiÂness motive will likeÂly raise some eyeÂbrows. But, our guess is that HarÂvard will be able to clarÂiÂfy the reaÂson for the new modÂel, and they’ll find in iTunes, as othÂers will too, a new and potenÂtialÂly powÂerÂful way of givÂing visÂiÂbilÂiÂty to cerÂtain forms of online eduÂcaÂtionÂal conÂtent. CerÂtainÂly, venÂtures like the TeachÂing ComÂpaÂny should be givÂing this modÂel a seriÂous look.
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