Scholarship as Conversation refers to the idea that communities of scholars, researchers and professionals engage in ongoing analysis, discussion, critique and knowledge-building. New insights and discoveries build upon or in contradiction to existing knowledge. 

Students should be able to:

• Identify existing knowledge in a field and the contribution particular articles, books and other scholarly work make to disciplinary knowledge
• Identify the ongoing conversation on a subject and step into that conversation at an appropriate level
• Identify debate and disagreement
• Seek out multiple perspectives
• Think critically about existing knowledge in a field
• Credit the ideas of others
• Recognize that authority privileges some voices over others
• Understand that knowledge is dynamic and evolving
• See themselves as creators, rather than simply consumers, of information

Big Questions:

• How can I participate in a scholarly conversation without merely parroting ideas?
• How do I recognize a gap in information when I am not an expert?
• How do I establish my own credibility on the subject?
• How do our responsibilities shift when moving from mere consumers of information to critics and/or creators of it?