Knowledge: Is Knowledge Power?(Key Ideas)

As we move through our modern world, the phenomenon we call knowledge is always involved. Whether we talk of know-how, technology, innovation, politics or education, it is the concept of knowledge that ties them all together. But despite its ubiquity as a modern trope we seldom encounter knowledge in itself. How is it produced, where does it reside, and who owns it? Is knowledge always beneficial, will we know all there is to know at some point in the future, and does knowledge really equal power? This book pursues an original approach to this concept that seems to define so many aspects of modern societies. It explores the topic from a distinctly sociological perspective, and traces the many ways that knowledge is woven into the very fabric of modern society.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction 1. Classical Conceptions of Knowledge 2. Knowledge about Knowledge 2.1. Attributes of Knowledge 2.2. Knowledge as a Capacity to Act 2.3. Knowledge and Information 2.4. Practical Knowledge 2.5. Additional Knowledge 2.6. The Uneven Development of Knowledge 2.7. The Limits of the Growth of Knowledge 2.8. A Sociological Concept of Knowledge and its Context 3. The Knowledge of the Powerful 3.1. Knowledge is Power and Power is Knowledge 3.2. The Iron Law of Oligarchy 3.3. Knowledge/Power 3.4. The Global Class 4. Non-knowledge 4.1. Sigmund Freud and Friedrich August von Hayek 4.2. Observations about Non-Knowledge 4.3. Non-knowledge as a Myth? 4.4. Non-knowledge 4.5. Ignorance 4.6. Knowledge Gaps 4.7. Non-knowledge about Non-knowledge 5. Policing Knowledge 5.1. The Self-realization of Knowledge 5.2. The Self-protection of Knowledge 5.3. Knowledge becomes Superfluous 6. Forms of Knowledge 6.1. Everyday Knowledge 6.2. The Power of Everyday Knowledge 6.3. Indigenous or Traditional Knowledge 6.4. Tacit Knowledge 7. Global Knowledge 7.1. Basic Reflections on Global Knowledge 7.2. Global Knowledge Worlds 7.3. Structures of Global Knowledge Spaces 7.4. Forms of Global Knowledge Worlds 7.5. Attributes of Knowledge that Promote Globalization 7.6. Limits to the Globalization of Knowledge 7.7. The Project of Worldwide Worlds of Knowledge, and the Doubts about its Likelihood 8. Digital Worlds and Knowledge/Information 8.1. Information, Communication and Technology 8.2. Societal Communication and Shared Knowledge 8.3. Analyzing the Ubiquity of the Media: Mediatization 8.4. New Media, Old Media and the Hybrid Media System 8.5. ITC’s, Surveillance and Knowledge 8.6. Communication, Media and Knowledge 9. Functions of Knowledge 9.1. Knowledge as Power and Authority 9.2. The Power of Ideas 9.3. Knowledge and the Economy 9.4. Knowledge as Property and Public Good 10. The Price of Knowledge 10.1. Human Capital 10.2. Symbolic Capital 10.3. Patents 10.4. Taxation 11. The Benefits of Knowledge 11.1. The Distribution of Knowledge 11.2 Knowledge, Power and Participation 11.3. The knowledge society Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Marian Adolf is Professor of Media Culture at Zeppelin University. His research interest revolves around the interface of media and social change, communication and cultural theory. He has held appointments as Visiting Professor at Quest University and Alpen-Adria-University Klagenfurt, and currently serves as chair of the German Communication Association’s section for Media Sociology. Nico Stehr is Karl Mannheim Professor of Cultural Studies at Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen Germany. He formerly held professorships at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, The University of British Columbia, Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and was Paul F. Lazarsfeld Guest Professor at the University of Vienna. He has published widely on the topic of Knowledge and is one of the proponents of Knowledge Society, a term that has acquired widespread currency not only in academia.