Both classification schemes and the evidence used to create them, what we call warrant, change over time. Dr. Tennis has been looking at case studies of this phenomenon since 2002. There are two objects of study here: the subject as it changes over time through the revisions of the scheme, and the semantic topography of the scheme itself. In the first case, we call this subject ontogeny and the second we call scheme versioning. For example, the subject eugenics used to be considered a biological science and now it does not.  

What are the ramifications for representing this change in large, widely distributed, and complex classification schemes? In this talk, Dr. Tennis looks at the state of the art of subject ontogeny and scheme versioning research.

Light refreshments will be provided. We encourage you to also bring your lunch.

Alternatively, you can join us remotely at https://washington.zoom.us/j/775611167.

Joseph T. Tennis is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs at the University of Washington Information School, Adjunct Associate Professor in Linguistics, and a member of the Textual Studies, Computational Linguistics, and Museology faculty advisory groups at the University of Washington. He served as President of the International Society for Knowledge Organization from 2014-2018. He is on the Library Quarterly and Knowledge Organization editorial boards, and served as a core member of the InterPARES Trust research team from 2005-2019.

Tennis works in classification theory, metadata versioning, ethics of knowledge organization work, descriptive informatics, and authenticity.  He teaches courses in classification, metadata, and intellectual foundations of information science at the University of Washington iSchool.