2007 Graduation - Doctoral Convocation

Professor Helen Nissenbaum, Faculty Speaker

To the class of graduating doctoral students, your advisors, proud families and friends, and esteemed colleagues at Steinhardt and NYU.

Many speeches begin with a joke, but, today, mine begins with a riddle.

What do 64 doctoral dissertations from 26 departments and programs in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Development have in common?

In this stunning array we find rigorous studies of lived experience in families, communities, and schools; studies of identity formation based on race, ethnicity, gender, and nationality; of the edification of body, mind, and spirit, of immigration and of old neighborhoods; of political institutions and of private life; we find studies of art, craft, music, dance and theater in performance, in education, and in therapy; of ameliorating suffering and inspiring learning; of work and leisure; of sociability and solitude; of the local, global, and international; of women and men, old and young; of new technologies and ancient rituals; of leaders and those left behind.
(Did I miss anyone?)

But there are two things these marvelous works share: Each one of these 64 dissertations incorporates originality; they mark a departure from what is known, they invent, discover, create, reveal something that was not there before; they add something unique and measurable to humankind's stock of knowledge. They push the envelope. AND, because this is Steinhardt, they also very likely add to humankind's stock of know-how, practical knowledge, knowledge with an eye to improving the human condition.

So, that is one thing: newness. What about the second? A much more material thing: something we, in the business, call the "lit review." Yes, the other essential component of every dissertation I have ever known. Whether you complete the lit review before you embark on your own project, or after it is about done, do it you must.

What's the meaning of these two things, juxtaposed as they are in a single effort? The first one is clear; the dissertation is a demonstration of your competence as a researcher. This spark of originality disciplined by method, qualifies you as a systematic, original thinker, capable of new ideas, of intellectual leadership. It seems ironic then that we ask you to bind this first major work of independent scholarship to the past work of others. What is the point? In short, why the lit review? Why now?

Sure, it is a rite of initiation, involving a degree of bravado. It says "Look how much I have mastered!" ("Look how many pages in my bibliography!") Not to underestimate this proof to the world that you have achieved a level of mastery in your field, there is further symbolism (a more abstract significance) of the juxtaposition of old with new.

At the same moment that you are presented to the world as an innovator, we make you say that you have not created something from nothing but something grown in the rich soil of past works. We teach that academic integrity consists in acknowledging this debt.

But there is more. To be an independent scholar is not merely to express your debt to the past works that we, your academic advisors, tell you to, it is to become discerning in your own right. It is to hone your faculty of discernment: to learn from the past, decide what to keep, what to question and ultimately what to leave behind. This is a conundrum of scholarship, but also a more general one.

In my own work on the ethics and politics of information technology in society, I struggle with this question constantly. In this tidal wave of new technologies, we are constantly challenged to change our ways: adapt to computers, the Internet, email, the World Wide Web, text-messaging, Facebook, Wikipedia, video games, and more. The underlying message often is: adapt or be left behind!

What's often missing, however, is the idea that we can choose; not simply to dig in our heels and stick with the old ways but choose in a discerning way. Breaking new ground can be exhilarating and technology, certainly, can be a force for great positive change. The challenge here too is to develop as a society a capacity for discernment that keeps up with the capacity for producing new things and new practices.

Edmund Burke, the 18th century Irish statesman and political philosopher has said that some decisions require more wisdom, and more experience "than any (single) person can gain in his whole life, however sagacious and observing he may be." We ought not "live and trade each on his own private stock of reason" but "avail (ourselves) of the general bank and capital of nations and of ages."

Although this explains why Burke stands as a key historical figure for modern conservatism, he warned also that "A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation"; we must pursue "conservation but also correction when it is needed.

The lesson taken is this: Draw from the accumulated wisdom of a field, of the past, even as you surge ahead on your own path.

The million dollar question is When and in What measure? When do we draw from the bank of ages and when do we pursue "correction" or change?

Even Edmund Burke offered no easy formula.

I believe answering the question this is the work of a lifetime, more than one lifetime. In relation to my own work, I have chosen to make values a fixed point and to stay true to them. I don't mean only lofty values like freedom, justice, and self-determination but those more directly experienced in daily life, like friendship, fellowship, integrity, and kindness. If a technical change can help us realize these values it is worth going for; if not, or if it sets us back in relation to these values, then there is cause to resist, to favor the accumulated wisdom of the past.

For the emerging scholar in each of you, by all means develop your own "stock of reason," - as well you have demonstrated you can -- break new ground, innovate. But also hone your powers of discernment to locate the wisdom in each of your fields that transcends time and place and remains lively and relevant. The best scholars and researchers are able to absorb this wisdom into their own work, pass it along to the next generation to write dissertations with even longer lit reviews.

Congratulations!