Yahoo Speaker Series: Geoffrey Bowker, Wednesday, April 10

In this talk I analyze the development of the scientific article as the coin of the realm for the transmission of knowledge.  I argue that the database, over the past two hundred years, has grown into a form of transmission and exploration which has been largely under-recognized.  I then discuss examples of new forms of knowledge expression which both deploy databases more effectively and move from a largely logocentric model to one engaging a wider set of senses.  Finally I explore the possibilities for developing these new forms within the academy.

Geoffrey C. Bowker is Professor at the School of Information and Computer Science, University of California at Irvine, where he directs the Evoke Laboratory (http://evoke.ics.uci.edu).  Recent positions include Professor of and Senior Scholar in Cyberscholarship at the University of Pittsburgh iSchool and Executive Director, Center for Science, Technology and Society, Santa Clara   Together with Leigh Star he wrote Sorting Things Out: Classification and its Consequences; his most recent book is Memory Practices in the Sciences.  He is currently working on new modes of knowledge expression and values in the design of information systems and technology.