| Deflating Information: From Science Studies to Documentation Contributor(s): Frohmann, Bernd (Author) |
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ISBN: 0802088392 ISBN-13: 9780802088390 Publisher: University of Toronto Press OUR PRICE: $96.90 Product Type: Hardcover Published: October 2004 Annotation: Is disseminating information the main purpose of scholarly scientific literature? Recent work in science studies signals a shift of emphasis from conceptual to material sources, from thinking to doing, and from representing the world to intervening in it. Scientific knowledge production is no longer seen as a process of seeking, collecting, organizing, and processing abstract elements, but instead one of assembling the many different material 'bits and pieces' of scientific culture in order to make things work. In Deflating Information, Bernd Frohmann draws on recent work in the social studies of science, finding the most significant material in the coordination of research work, the stabilization of matters of fact, and the manufacture of objectivity. Arguing for a 'deflationary' account of information, Frohmann challenges the central concept of information studies, thereby laying a foundation for a documentalist approach to emerging issues in the field. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Science | Philosophy & Social Aspects - Social Science | Popular Culture - Language Arts & Disciplines | Library & Information Science - General |
| Dewey: 306.42 |
| LCCN: 2004276469 |
| Physical Information: 1.2" H x 6.36" W x 9.3" (1.53 lbs) 320 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Is disseminating information the main purpose of scholarly scientific literature? Recent work in science studies signals a shift of emphasis from conceptual to material sources, from thinking to doing, and from representing the world to intervening in it. Scientific knowledge production is no longer seen as a process of seeking, collecting, organizing, and processing abstract elements, but instead one of assembling the many different material 'bits and pieces' of scientific culture in order to make things work. In Deflating Information, Bernd Frohmann draws on recent work in the social studies of science, finding the most significant material in the coordination of research work, the stabilization of matters of fact, and the manufacture of objectivity. Arguing for a 'deflationary' account of information, Frohmann challenges the central concept of information studies, thereby laying a foundation for a documentalist approach to emerging issues in the field. |
Contributor Bio(s): Frohmann, Bernd: - Bernd Frohmann is an associate professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario. |
