The Routledge Handbook of Information History

The Routledge Handbook of Information History offers a definitive, inclusive and far-reaching study of how information practices have influenced, and been influenced by, society, politics, culture and technology over past millennia. Information is often considered a defining characteristic of modern society, but it is far from a modern phenomenon. In the last decades historians have started to ask new questions about how information was understood in the past, suggesting that it has a history which is long, complex and multifaceted. This influential new volume is the first large-scale collection to use the term Information History as its titular focus, situating information within the historiography of the field. It showcases a diverse collection of over forty international contributors who explore information practices from antiquity to the contemporary world, with geographical coverage ranging across Europe, Africa, Asia, as well as North and South America. Including overview essays alongside a wide range of in-depth empirical studies, this ground-breaking collection will appeal to scholars and students in the social sciences, arts and humanities, and offers readers unique insights into how historical practices have influenced the understanding and role of information in our modern world.