A title and movement founded by
Ted M. Coopman,
MS. Rogue scholars work to communicate the works of academia in such a way that it can be understood by those outside of academic circles, "taking scholarship to the streets," as it were. The most concise explanation of the rogue scholar cause is probably Coopman's
1998 paper, "
A Rogue Scholarship Manifesto (version 1.0)" (emphasis is my own).
"Rogue scholarship is not a refutation of traditional scholarship or a condemnation of perceived elitism in academe. Rogue scholarship is not an attempt to reform or re-define academe. It does not take the stance that "contemporary" academe or scholarship is in need of reform. It does not discount the idea of knowledge for knowledge's sake.
"Rogue scholarship is not an embracing of post-anything, or championing a call for a stampede to auto-ethnography, evocative narrative, or any other theories du jour. Rogue scholarship does not advocate the abandonment of any theoretical framework or endorse any new frameworks as superior. Rogue scholarship can be both theoretical, atheoretical, qualitative, or quantitative. It is not anchored to any approach."
Cooper's choice in terminology has some rather unorthodox roots, being tied to the definition of "rogue" as it appeared in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Player's Handbook.
"The rogue can be found throughout the world, wherever people gather and money changes hands. While many rogues are motivated only by a desire to amass fortune in the easiest way possible, some rogues have noble aims; they use their skills to correct injustice [and] spread good will....There are two types of rogues: thieves and bards.
"To accomplish [her/his] goals, for good or ill, the thief is a skillful pilferer. Cunning nimbleness, and stealth are [her/his] hallmarks. Whether she/he turns [his/her] talents against the innocent passers-by and wealthy merchants or oppressors and monsters is a choice for the thief to make.
The bard is also a rogue, but [she/he] is very different from the thief...With...[his/her] wits [she/he] makes [his/her] way through the world. A bard is a...walking storehouse of gossip, tall tales, and lore. [She/he] learns a little bit about everything that crosses [his/her] path; [she/he] is jack of all trades and a master of none. While many bards are scoundrels, their stories and songs are welcome almost everywhere" (p.25).
Rogue scholars champion the free flow of information, practicality, accountability for research, acknowledgement of bias, and scholarship as a means of facilitating discussion.
Many rogue scholars are those who are engaged in disparate fields of scholarship, and look for ways to unite them. The small-but-growing community of young and not-so-young rogue scholars features more than a few scholars who have taken on the daunting task of being professional interdisciplinary academics. Critics of rogue scholarship claim that it is little more than a scholastic popularity contest judged by the lay community, and there are rogue scholars who fit that description. Nevertheless, most of the scholars who stay with the movement for very long take it seriously, and contribute to the base knowledge of humanity because they believe it to be the right thing to do.
Needless to say, parallels between rogue scholarship and good noding philosophy are many.
Papers on Rogue Scholarship
"Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks: Taking Scholarship to the Streets" Glen Williams,
Texas A&M University
"Born to be Mild: The Changing Significance of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle" Richard J. Webb, U. of Texas, Austin
"Pirates to Micro Broadcasters: The Rise of the Micro Radio Movement" Ted M. Coopman, San José State University
"Communicating with Others: Students with Disabilities Voice Their Perspectives" Stephanie Zimmermann, Ohio University
"Creating 'Real" Spaces for Public Discourse: The Cupertino Community Project" Shawn J. Spano, San José State University
"In Defense of Rogue Scholarship: Performing the 'Scholar' in Qualitative Work" Stacy Holman Jones, U. of Texas, Austin
"New Scholarship for a New Media: Reaching the People through the People's Networks" Ted M. Coopman, Rogue Communication Consultants, Santa Cruz, CA
"A Space for Public Conversation:The Cupertino Community Project" Victoria Chen, Dept. of Communication Denison University, Granville, OH, Shawn J. Spano, Dept. of Communication Studies, San José State University, San José, CA
"Organizational Paradox: Facilitating Change and Dissent" Greg Leichty, Joy Hart, Shirley Willihnganz, Department of Communication, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
"Heard it Through the Grapevine: An Organizational Communication Odd-it" JoAnn McKenzie, Richard J. Webb Dept. of Speech Communication, University of Texas, Austin, TX
"Collaboration In and Of Research and Teaching" Tasha Souza, Dept. of Speech Communication, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
"Being An In-Simplest-Termsist" Tim Thompson, Dept. of Speech and Communication Studies Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, PA
"Issues of Scholarly and Media Bias in Public Consumption of Elite Knowledge" Jim A. Kuypers, Dartmouth College
"Creating Spaces for Public Conversation: The Public Dialog Consortium and the Cupertino Project" Michael Leitao, Texas A&M University
"The Needs of the Many" and "The Needs of the Few" Joy Hart, and Shirley Willihnganz, University of Louisville
"The Goldfish Dialogues: Plato's Format in the Age of the Internet" David Sutton
"A Rogue Scholarship Manifesto (version 1.0)" Ted M. Coopman, Rogue Communication Consultants
"The Relationship Among Internet Exposure, Communicator Context and Rurality in a Northern California County" Scott Millward, San José State U
"Thinking About the Online Classroom: Evaluating the 'Ideal' Versus the 'Real'" Jenny Kindred Wayne State U
"The Virtual Campaign: Presidential Primary Websites in Campaign 2000" William L. Benoit & Pamela J. Benoit, U of Missouri
"Warp Speed Journalism" Mike Madias, Clinical Sociologist, Freelance Journalist
"Disability on the Net" Stephanie J. Coopman, San José State U
"The World Wide Weed: Marijuana Goes Online" Xeno Rasmusson, CSU, Hayward
"High Speed Access: Micro Radio, Action, and Activism on the Internet" Ted M. Coopman, Rogue Communication Consultants