DISCURSIVE CONTENT AND DISCURSIVE POWER IN US LIBRARY AND INFORMATION-SCIENCE EDUCATION

This paper presents a two-fold examination of some recent writings on library and information science (LIS) education emanating from within and without LIS education. The first part is a content analysis of the writings, intended to provide insight into the points of emphasis in documents from the American Library Association, the Medical Library A ssociation, and other official bodies, as well as from individuals wri ting on LIS education in general or on specific curricular matters. Th e second part examines the discourse from the theoretical perspectives provided by Michael Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu. In particular, the writings are examined as articulations of symbolic power. In this sens e, the writings comprise a dialectic, but one without a clear and comm on context.