On Sunday, May 24, 2020 4:44:42 PM CDT Aris Merchant via agora-discussion wrote: > This is a reform of the degrees system. It has been bothering me for > ages that we don't have clear criteria for what theses qualify for > each degree. For instance, no one seems to be sure whether artistic > works can qualify for a degree. This proposal would establish > standards (in terms of level of contribution, not word-count), create > a separate track of degrees for artistic works, and (while I'm at it) > rename Doctor degrees to Doctorate degrees to match all the other > degrees in being gender neutral. I hope this will be favorably > received, but I'm somewhat scared that G. will find something in here > to grumble about, so I'm submitting it as a proto first. :) > > -Aris > --- > Title: College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences > Adoption index: 3.0 > Author: Aris > Co-author(s): > > Amend Rule 1367, "Degrees", by changing it to read as follows: > > Certain patent titles are known as degrees. The degrees are > > - Associate of Nomic (A.N.) > - Juris Doctorate of Nomic (J.N.) > - Baccalaureate of Nomic Artistry (B.N.A.) > - Baccalaureate of Nomic (B.N.) > - Magisteriate of Nomic Artistry (M.N.A) > - Magisteriate of Nomic (M.N.) > - Doctorate of Nomic History (D.N.Hist.) > - Doctorate of Nomic Artistry (D.N.Art.) > - Doctorate of Nomic Law (D.N.Law.) > - Doctorate of Nomic Science (D.N.Sci.) > - Doctorate of Nomic Philosophy (D.N.Phil.) > > Degrees are ranked in the order they appear in this rule, with > degrees listed later being ranked higher. A specific degree CANNOT > be awarded to any person more than once.
Is it intentional that this means there's a hierarchy among the Doctorates (and Magisteriates and Baccalaureates)? Seems a little strange conceptually. Although very appropriate for Agora that Philosophy ranks highest. > A specified degree CAN be awarded by any player other than the > awardee, with 2 Agoran consent. It SHOULD only be awarded for the > publication of an original thesis of scholarly worth (including > responses to peer-review), published with explicit intent to > qualify for a degree. The Herald SHOULD coordinate the peer-review > process and the awarding of degrees. > > An Associate of Nomic degree SHOULD be awarded for a thesis that adds > appreciably to Agoran culture, but fails to qualify for another > degree. Baccalaureate level degrees (which include the J.N) SHOULD be > awarded when the thesis demonstrates a substantial contribution, > Magisteriate degrees for a remarkable contribution, and Doctorate degrees > for an exceptional contribution. Any degree at the Doctorate level SHOULD > take into account the awardee's academic history and participation in Agora > over time. > > Artistry degrees SHOULD demonstrate substantial creativity, and need > not be in written form. All other degrees above the Associate level SHOULD > demonstrate substantial research or analysis. J.N. and D.N.Law are > appropriate for high-quality legal analysis, of the sort typical to CFJs, > but exceeding an ordinary CFJ in depth. The D.N.Hist. degree is appropriate > for historical research, especially when it presents a narrative that will > educate Agorans about the events of the past. The D.N.Sci. degree is is "is is" on the above line > appropriate for theses that demonstrate concrete or scientific thinking, > whereas the D.N.Phil. is appropriate for theses that demonstrate abstract > or philosophical thinking. > > Rename every instance of the first listed patent title on each row to the > second listed patent title on each row: > > - Juris Doctor of Nomic, Juris Doctorate of Nomic > - Doctor of Nomic History, Doctorate of Nomic History > - Doctor of Nomic Law, Doctorate of Nomic Law > - Doctor of Nomic Science, Doctorate of Nomic Science > - Doctor of Nomic Philosophy, Doctorate of Nomic Philosophy Overall, I'm in favor of this. -- nch
