Beyond the legacy of the Enlightenment? Online encyclopaedias as digital heterotopias

Bibliographic Data

ID15114709
AuthorsJutta Haider (0000-0002-8293-8208, Lund University), Olof Sundin (0000-0001-6352-8580, Lund University)
Year2009
Publication date2009-12-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFirst Monday (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1396-0458 • E-ISSN: 1396-0466
PublisherUniversity of Illinois Libraries (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5210/fm.v15i1.2744
OpenAlexW1978850821
LanguageEN
Citations received9

This article explores how we can understand contemporary participatory online encyclopaedic expressions, particularly Wikipedia, in their traditional role as continuation of the Enlightenment ideal, as well as in the distinctly different space of the Internet. Firstly we position these encyclopaedias in a historical tradition. Secondly, we assign them a place in contemporary digital networks which marks them out as sites in which Enlightenment ideals of universal knowledge take on a new shape. We argue that the Foucauldian concept of heterotopia, that is special spaces which exist within society, transferred online, can serve to understand Wikipedia and similar participatory online encyclopaedias in their role as unique spaces for the construction of knowledge, memory and culture in late modern society

Citizen journalism · Digital media · Enlightenment · Epistemology · Sociology · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Philosophy · Social Media and Politics · Web and Library Services · Wikis in Education and Collaboration

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