Colleagues,

I disagree that such a list should be expected "almost certainly" to
reflect the "lowest common denominator" of the literature.  Why should
it not reflect, to follow the analogy, the "greatest common factor"?
One might argue that the intersection of experiences fits more closely
the gcf, since that is the intersection of the atoms (prime factors) of
the objects under consideration, but this is not important.

What is an important question is whether creating such a list helps
future researchers or hinders them.

How can such a list help?  Using such a list for preparation of graduate
students who, like me, are preparing for exams, would create an
experience "common" to those using the list.  I see the utility here as
providing exposure to common frames and language so that researchers can
communicate clearly with each other and place their research questions
in context relative to others' research questions. Solving this
"coordination problem" is a positive outcome more likely achieved with a
classics list than without.

How can such a list hinder?  One concern is that some students will
limit their reading to this list, that creating a bar will induce some
to merely get over the bar.  This is not unreasonable, though I think
that concern is overstressed and easily preventable by, for instance,
each school individually augmenting the list as befits the emphasis of
that program.  Even allowing that those who want just to get by
generally will find ways to do so, making a standard unnecessarily
unclear increases student stress while only probabilistically generating
the benefits of a classics list.  A second concern is that a classics
list might expand to the point that it becomes a standardized
curriculum.  With the modest goal of creating a common experience and
some discipline in not letting the list of 20 become a list of 100, this
outcome can be avoided.  List brevity should also help avoid banality;
having few slots to fill encourages little waste of space.

As someone fairly new to political science (my prior training was in
math) I, for one, would appreciate any efficient process that helps me
understand broad themes in the field and communicate more effectively
with my collaborators.  Weren't we each new to this at some point?

Best,
Steve

J D Singer wrote:

> Dear Professor Grant,
> I myself have never published or even proposed such a list because it
> would mostly reflect a numerical consensus, and as such would almost
> certainly end up with the least common denominator and almost
> inevitably exclude the less conventional.  To the extent that this
> happens, any field is likely to suffer from excessive banality.
>
> J David Singer
> University of Michigan
>
> On Oct 19, 2005, at 5:33 PM, Tobin Grant wrote:
>
>> Some colleagues are putting together lists of "classics" for
>> subfields in
>> political science.  The idea is to have a collection of 20 or so
>> books (or
>> other major workds) that grad students should be familiar with when
>> preparing for exams.  These are works that help define major problems
>> addressed by scholars.  Regardess of whether such a list is useful,
>> there
>> is obviously going to be differences in the way previous research
>> is used
>> in each subfield.  I would appreciate any thoughts on whether such
>> a list
>> could be constructed and if so what you would nominate for such a
>> list.
>> Feel free to email me directly ([log in to unmask]).  I'll report back next
>> week on the "canon".
>>
>> Tobin Grant
>> Southern Illinois University
>
--
Stephen R. Haptonstahl
Graduate Student in Political Science
Washington University in St. Louis
Webmaster for http://polmeth.wustl.edu

Email: [log in to unmask]
Web: http://srh.wustl.edu

**********************************************************
             Political Methodology E-Mail List
        Editor: Karen Long Jusko <[log in to unmask]>
**********************************************************
        Send messages to [log in to unmask]
  To join the list, cancel your subscription, or modify
           your subscription settings visit:

          http://polmeth.wustl.edu/polmeth.php

**********************************************************