A WORLD MADE OF KNOWLEDGE: PATHWAYS INTO THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY

More than three decades after Gernot Böhme and Nico Stehr began to explore modern "knowledge societies", the concept has transformed sociological inquiry into the dynamics of contemporary society. But even a quick internet search shows that the term is not only limited to academic circles. Moreover, international bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) underline the importance of transformative processes toward knowledge societies for global tertiary education and promote "inclusive knowledge societies for sustainable development". This book brings together Nico Stehr's key writings on the knowledge society and serves as an authoritative resource for students, scholars, and professionals. Previously published articles and chapters have been carefully selected to take the reader from the formulation and refinement of the concept to scholarly contributions that test its applicability and explanatory power in empirical case studies. In addition, the volume includes new and original material by Nico Stehr that will help the next generation of scholars explore novel and pressing issues such as the role of digital technologies and AI in modern knowledge societies and future inequalities in knowledge capitalism.

Nico Stehr, PhD, FSRC, is professor emeritus (Karl Mannheim Professor for Cultural Studies) at Zeppelin University (2004–2018) and professor of sociology emeritus, University of Alberta, Canada. He studied Economics, Sociology, Law, Social Policy, and Fiscal Theory and Policy at the Universities of Cologne, Germany and Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA. After his PhD 1970, he was Professor of Sociology at the Department of Sociology, University of Alberta, Canada (1979–1997); Eric Voegelin Professor at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany (1984–1985); Paul F Lazarsfeld Professor at Human- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Universität Vienna, Austria (2002–2003); Alcatel Professor at TH Darmstadt, Germany (2001); and Visiting Professor at the Free University of Berlin and the Universities of Vienna, Zürich, Konstanz, Augsburg and Duisburg between 1977 and 2023. His books have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Arabic and many other languages. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the European Academy of Arts and Science.

Alexander Ruser is professor of sociology at the Department of Sociology and Social Work, University of Agder (UiA). Since September 2022, he has been the director of the Centre for Digital Transformation (CeDiT) at the faculty of social sciences, UiA. Before coming to Norway in 2018, he was a temporary Professor for Social Structure Analysis and scientific head of the Center for Political Communication at Zeppelin University, Germany. He holds a PhD from the Max Weber Institute for Sociology, University of Heidelberg, and was a Dahrendorf Postdoctoral Fellow at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin and the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. He has also been a Visiting Fellow at Punjab University, Chandigarh, and the Indian Institute of Advances Studies. His research focuses on the social and political role of knowledge, with a special interest in social network analysis and digital communication.