Circulation, Arenas, and the Quest for Public Knowledge

Historiographical Currents and Analytical Frameworks

Bibliographic Data

ID4495723
AuthorsJohan Östling (0000-0001-6764-2639, Lund University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume59
Issue4
Pages111-126
Publication date2020-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory and Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-2656 • E-ISSN: 1468-2303
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/hith.12184
OpenAlexW3106642568
LanguageEN
Citations received18

The recent surge in publications on the history of knowledge may obscure the fact that there are several parallel understandings of what the field is. In this article, I discern five major historiographical directions in contemporary scholarship regarding the history of knowledge. The analytical framework that has so far attracted the most attention is the circulation of knowledge. As productive as it is, the very concept of circulation is in need of both elaboration and theorization. In order to achieve this, I focus on the public circulation of knowledge. This kind of circulation implies that knowledge should be studied as a broad, societal phenomenon. There are a number of possible methodological approaches to study the processes, situations, or contexts where knowledge has or gains public significance. Here I focus on and develop the concept of public arenas of knowledge, which might be virtual, physical, or hybrid spaces. Drawing on several new studies, I demonstrate how different public arenas of knowledge functioned during the postwar period and how they were part of a larger infrastructure of knowledge

Body of knowledge · Circulation (fluid dynamics · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Focus (optics · Historiography · Phenomenon · Political science · Scholarship · Social science · Sociology · Engineering · Historical Studies in Latin America · Latin American history and culture · Law · Philosophy

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