{"product_id":"the-web-of-knowledge-encyclopedias-and-authority-in-the-digital-age-hardback-9780745646282","title":"The Web of Knowledge; Encyclopedias and Authority in the Digital Age (Hardback) 9780745646282","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Web of Knowledge\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eEncyclopedias and Authority in the Digital Age\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eGiota Alevizou (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780745646282, Polity Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 20 February 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e336 pages\u003cbr\u003e21.3 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm, 0.567 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\"This fascinating genealogy reveals how encyclopedias - commercial and commons-based - influence the authoritative status of knowledge and why epistemic justice and resistance to biases depend on future choices about who controls the production, credibility, and accessibility of knowledge.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobin Mansell, London School of Economics and Political Science\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This book shows encyclopedias have been reinvented for the digital age - reshaped by new media, changing institutions, and the politics of knowledge. Must-read!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJimmy Wales\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"With the vast amount of information swirling around us, Giota Alevizou's new book is a crucial guide to how knowledge is being assembled, ordered and mediated, and to the profound consequences these structures have for meaning and knowing.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Beer, University of York\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"What happens to knowledge structures in the digital age? This book is timely, authoritative, and important – encyclopaedic in the best sense of the word.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCaroline Bassett, University of Cambridge\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An essential text for students and researchers of communication theory and digital media, Wikimedians and Wikipedians, as well as those who want to learn more about the modern history of the encyclopedia.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMatthew Vetter, \u003ci\u003eInternational Journal of Communication\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe encyclopedia has expanded in scope, scale, and popularity in the digital age. \u003ci\u003eWikipedia\u003c\/i\u003e in particular serves as a gateway to information and a flashpoint for disputes over authority, expertise, and cultural perspectives. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis innovative book, which includes a foreword by the co-founder of \u003ci\u003eWikipedia\u003c\/i\u003e, Jimmy Wales, traces the historical roots of digital encyclopedias in the early development of information science and cyberculture. It identifies trends within their digital evolution to reveal a complex web of relationships between media technology, knowledge, and culture. Using several case studies, Alevizou analyses how major technological shifts have impacted the publishing models, governance, and creative labour of reference works; the evolution of the genre and the modalities of representation and access; and the range of uses and symbolic meanings of encyclopedias as diverse nodes within broader information economies, as commodities and as public goods. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFilled with rich empirical insights, this engaging text reflects on how encyclopedias serve as informational media today and discusses their continued relevance in public communication and culture. \u003ci\u003eThe Web of Knowledge\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for students and scholars of digital media, platform studies, and the political economy of knowledge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword by Jimmy Wales\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart I: From Scroll to Platform: Genealogies, Media Technologies and Encyclopedic Knowledge\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eFrom Roots to Routes: Genealogies and Imaginaries of Encyclopedic Media\u003cbr\u003eEncyclopedic Genres and the Digital Information Economy\u003cbr\u003eEncyclopedic Dynamism and Epistemologies\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart II: Eras, Transitions, and Transformations\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eFrom Page to Screen: The Multimedia Era\u003cbr\u003eFrom Paywalls to Platforms: Encyclopedias in the Digital Knowledge Economy\u003cbr\u003eEditing ‘Authority’: Wikipedia and Commons Knowledge\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart III: Rationalising Authority: Encyclopedic Epistemologies in the Digital Age\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eRewriting Authority: The Changing Value(s) of Encyclopedic Knowledge\u003cbr\u003eEpistemic Qualities and AI Threats\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eConclusion: The Politics of Knowing: Reflections on Uncertain Futures\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNotes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eReferences\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndex\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Society \u0026amp; culture: general [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Society \u0026amp; culture: general\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Society%20\u0026amp;%20culture:%20general%20%5BJF%5D%22\"\u003eJF\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Polity","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52407315628312,"sku":"9780745646282","price":42.89,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9780745646282.jpg?v=1784161155","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-web-of-knowledge-encyclopedias-and-authority-in-the-digital-age-hardback-9780745646282","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}