Inglorious Pedagogy: Difficult, Unpopular, and Uncommon Topics in Library and Information Science Education

Topics and issues in library and information science education pedagogy are commonly discussed in panels, conferences, peer-reviewed articles, professional articles, and dedicated monographs. However, in this abundance of education-oriented discussions, there are several noticeable gaps and omissions. Not always do education-oriented publications involve theoretical grounding that could make them stronger in argumentation and more generalizable to other contexts. Addressing these gaps, the book stands to strengthen the less covered areas of LIS pedagogical thought; it enriches a theoretical foundation of pedagogical discourse and broadens its scope. This volume brings together a collection of essays from library and information science (LIS) educators from around the world who delve into difficult, unpopular, and uncommonly discussed topics—the inglorious pedagogy, as we call it—based on their practice and scholarship. Presenting perspectives from Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, each chapter is a case study, rooted not only in the author’s experience but also in a solid theoretical or analytical framework that helps the reader make sense of the situations, behaviors, impact, and human emotions involved in each. The collective thought woven in the book chapters leads the reader through the milestones of (in)glorious pedagogy to a better understanding of the potentially transformative nature and wasted opportunities of graduate LIS education and higher education in general.