Information - by Eric Hayot & Lea Pao & Anatoly Detwyler

About the Book

"For decades, we have been told we live in the "information age"-a time when disruptive technological advancement has reshaped the categories and social uses of knowledge and when quantitative assessment is increasingly privileged. Such methodologies and concepts of information are usually considered the provenance of the natural and social sciences, which present them as politically and philosophically neutral. Yet the humanities should and do play an important role in interpreting and critiquing the historical, cultural, and conceptual nature of information. This book is one of two companion volumes that explore theories and histories of information from a humanistic perspective. They consider information as a long-standing feature of social, cultural, and conceptual management, a matter of social practice, and a fundamental challenge for the humanities today. Information: A Reader provides an introduction to the concept of information in historical, literary, and cultural studies. It features excerpts from more than forty texts by theorists and critics who have helped establish the notion of the "information age" or expand upon it. The reader establishes a canonical framework for thinking about information in humanistic terms. Together with Information: Keywords, it sets forth a major humanistic vision of the concept of information"--

Book Synopsis

For decades, we have been told we live in the "information age"--a time when disruptive technological advancement has reshaped the categories and social uses of knowledge and when quantitative assessment is increasingly privileged. Such methodologies and concepts of information are usually considered the provenance of the natural and social sciences, which present them as politically and philosophically neutral. Yet the humanities should and do play an important role in interpreting and critiquing the historical, cultural, and conceptual nature of information.

This book is one of two companion volumes that explore theories and histories of information from a humanistic perspective. They consider information as a long-standing feature of social, cultural, and conceptual management, a matter of social practice, and a fundamental challenge for the humanities today.

Information: A Reader provides an introduction to the concept of information in historical, literary, and cultural studies. It features excerpts from more than forty texts by theorists and critics--including Walter Benjamin, Umberto Eco, Lisa Gitelman, Ian Hacking, N. Katherine Hayles, Friedrich Kittler, and Norbert Wiener--who have helped establish the notion of the "information age" or expand upon it. The reader establishes a canonical framework for thinking about information in humanistic terms. Together with Information: Keywords, it sets forth a major humanistic vision of the concept of information.

Review Quotes

Information: A Reader is a compelling read both for those familiar with the concept of information and those new to the field. Keen editorial intelligence suffuses each section and selection of the anthology, along with generous, insightful commentaries that reframe our understandings of these foundational texts. I found myself reading the book from cover to cover, revising my understanding of what I thought were familiar writings and happily surprised by textual juxtapositions that manifest the secret history of information.--Jack W. Chen, coeditor of Literary Information in China: A History

Superbly compiled, the reader brings together several clusters of important primary sources from diverse disciplinary perspectives including communication theory, philosophy, political science, media studies, and literary criticism. A number of unexpected juxtapositions emerge as a result, amounting to a remarkably coherent commentary--a master class--on the concept of information in the humanities.--Dennis Yi Tenen, author of Plain Text: The Poetics of Computation

"Information" has famously been defined as something that "makes a difference." This book, assembling critical readings from across numerous academic frontiers into a unified corpus, undoubtedly will make a significant difference, supporting innovative and important humanistic research around the topic of information for many years to come.--Paul Duguid, coeditor of Information: A Historical Companion

About the Author

Eric Hayot is distinguished professor of comparative literature and Asian studies at the Pennsylvania State University.

Anatoly Detwyler is assistant professor of modern Chinese literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Lea Pao is assistant professor of German studies at Stanford University.