Social History of Knowledge

From Gutenberg to Diderot

Nonfiction, History
Cover of the book Social History of Knowledge by Peter Burke, Wiley
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peter Burke ISBN: 9780745665924
Publisher: Wiley Publication: May 31, 2013
Imprint: Polity Language: English
Author: Peter Burke
ISBN: 9780745665924
Publisher: Wiley
Publication: May 31, 2013
Imprint: Polity
Language: English

In this book Peter Burke adopts a socio-cultural approach to examine the changes in the organization of knowledge in Europe from the invention of printing to the publication of the French Encyclopédie.

The book opens with an assessment of different sociologies of knowledge from Mannheim to Foucault and beyond, and goes on to discuss intellectuals as a social group and the social institutions (especially universities and academies) which encouraged or discouraged intellectual innovation. Then, in a series of separate chapters, Burke explores the geography, anthropology, politics and economics of knowledge, focusing on the role of cities, academies, states and markets in the process of gathering, classifying, spreading and sometimes concealing information. The final chapters deal with knowledge from the point of view of the individual reader, listener, viewer or consumer, including the problem of the reliability of knowledge discussed so vigorously in the seventeenth century.

One of the most original features of this book is its discussion of knowledges in the plural. It centres on printed knowledge, especially academic knowledge, but it treats the history of the knowledge 'explosion' which followed the invention of printing and the discovery of the world beyond Europe as a process of exchange or negotiation between different knowledges, such as male and female, theoretical and practical, high-status and low-status, and European and non-European.

Although written primarily as a contribution to social or socio-cultural history, this book will also be of interest to historians of science, sociologists, anthropologists, geographers and others in another age of information explosion.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this book Peter Burke adopts a socio-cultural approach to examine the changes in the organization of knowledge in Europe from the invention of printing to the publication of the French Encyclopédie.

The book opens with an assessment of different sociologies of knowledge from Mannheim to Foucault and beyond, and goes on to discuss intellectuals as a social group and the social institutions (especially universities and academies) which encouraged or discouraged intellectual innovation. Then, in a series of separate chapters, Burke explores the geography, anthropology, politics and economics of knowledge, focusing on the role of cities, academies, states and markets in the process of gathering, classifying, spreading and sometimes concealing information. The final chapters deal with knowledge from the point of view of the individual reader, listener, viewer or consumer, including the problem of the reliability of knowledge discussed so vigorously in the seventeenth century.

One of the most original features of this book is its discussion of knowledges in the plural. It centres on printed knowledge, especially academic knowledge, but it treats the history of the knowledge 'explosion' which followed the invention of printing and the discovery of the world beyond Europe as a process of exchange or negotiation between different knowledges, such as male and female, theoretical and practical, high-status and low-status, and European and non-European.

Although written primarily as a contribution to social or socio-cultural history, this book will also be of interest to historians of science, sociologists, anthropologists, geographers and others in another age of information explosion.

More books from Wiley

Cover of the book Learning Practical FinTech from Successful Companies by Peter Burke
Cover of the book The Self Managed Superannuation Trustee's Handbook by Peter Burke
Cover of the book Electrical, Electronics, and Digital Hardware Essentials for Scientists and Engineers by Peter Burke
Cover of the book Designing Successful e-Learning by Peter Burke
Cover of the book The Organization of the Future 2 by Peter Burke
Cover of the book Coaching Volleyball For Dummies by Peter Burke
Cover of the book Sparks by Peter Burke
Cover of the book Structure and Function of Plants by Peter Burke
Cover of the book Financial Risk Manager Handbook by Peter Burke
Cover of the book GIMP Bible by Peter Burke
Cover of the book The Brain Atlas by Peter Burke
Cover of the book Dealing with the Tough Stuff by Peter Burke
Cover of the book Modeling and Simulation for Microelectronic Packaging Assembly by Peter Burke
Cover of the book Corporate Financial Distress, Restructuring, and Bankruptcy by Peter Burke
Cover of the book Electrical Machine Drives Control by Peter Burke
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy