Theoretical Issues in Information Literacy

Achieving literacy vis-á-vis information has both practical and theoretical aspects, with the practical applications falling largely in the arena of library and information science (conducting effective searches, distinguishing between popular and scholarly sources, using databases effectively, discerning bias, evaluating source materials, etc.), while theoretical discussions involving information literacy are cast within the overarching disciplines of philosophy, culture studies, sociology, gender studies, media studies, science and technology studies, political science, economics, art history, performance studies, to name just a few.

In a very real sense the bits of information we work with on a daily basis are shaped by the discourses at play in each of these disciplines, by the media in which the information travels (book, newspaper, radio, television, film, stage production, painting, sculpture, body movement, internet) and by the structures of knowledge in which the information is conceptualized. As we encounter and reflect on the primary sources that drive our research (novels, plays, poetry, film, performance pieces, artworks, language communities, &c.) and work these reflections into scholarly publications of our own, it is also important to understand the influence of the medium's history on the formation and embodiment of the information it carries. How does a particular painting technique impact the visual and textural knowledge of the painting itself? to what extent is it important to look at the materiality of the radio to understand the subtleties of a radio play or experimental radio art piece?

The subject headings which follow lead to links which draw together bits of information about various theories of information, about the histories of various media technologies, and about critical approaches to understanding various media and the information they inscribe. As such, this page will be in a constant state of flux and incompletion.

If you know of a site or article that you find interesting, please let me know and I will add it here.

 

 
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