Doctoral Research Seminar: Knowledge in the Public Arena
This MIT doctoral seminar examines how research knowledge becomes actionable in public policy and practice, or fails to. Sessions cover the politics of policymaking, framing and agenda-setting, fads and paradigms in the design professions, and how knowledge and influence travel through professional networks. The course distinguishes rational, craft, and other forms of knowledge, and looks at how deliberation shapes decisions. Guest speakers bring case studies of research used, and misused, across various fields, surfacing conflicts among public values, political interests, and ethical obligations. Materials, available through MIT OpenCourseWare, include the syllabus, readings, and case study assignments developed by faculty with both academic and practitioner backgrounds. The seminar is aimed at doctoral students grappling with how scholarship translates, or fails to translate, into real-world influence.