The Politics of Encyclopaedias

Autor/in	Fozooni, Babak
Titel	The Politics of Encyclopaedias
Quelle	In: Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 10 (2012) 2, S.314-344 (31 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1740-2743
Schlagwörter	Encyclopedias; Comparative Analysis; Content Analysis; Information Literacy; Collaborative Writing; Electronic Publishing; Epistemology; Credibility; Biographies; Philosophy; Political Attitudes; Authoritarianism; Social Psychology; Intellectual Disciplines; Politics of Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Encyclopedia; Enzyklopädie; Inhaltsanalyse; Informationskompetenz; Elektronisches Publizieren; Erkenntnistheorie; Glaubwürdigkeit; Biography; Biografie; Biographie; Philosophie; Political attitude; Politische Einstellung; Autoritarismus; Sozialpsychologie; Geisteswissenschaften; Educational policy; Bildungspolitik
Abstract	The paper assesses the political credibility of three encyclopaedias (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopedia of Marxism and Wikipedia) in relation to three chosen topics (Friedrich Engels's biography; the political philosophy of fascism; and, the discipline of social psychology). I was interested in discerning how entries are represented and critically evaluated within each encyclopaedia. What epistemological foundations are at work? What type of information is privileged and what is marginalised? And, most importantly, how effective are the descriptions in terms of demystifying capitalist social relations? My findings suggest that the political narratives of Encyclopaedia Britannica are the least intellectually credible of the three. Whilst all three possess weaknesses, a combination of Encyclopedia of Marxism and Wikipedia should provide a thorough and, by and large, trustworthy starting point for any analyst investigating social phenomena. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Institute for Education Policy Studies. University of Northampton, School of Education, Boughton Green Road, Northampton, NN2 7AL, UK. Tel: +44-1273-270943; e-mail: ieps@ieps.org.uk; Web site: http://www.jceps.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10