2011/07/01 by Damien Smith Pfister · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Computer Science · Social Sciences · #Citizen journalism #Computer science #Digital Humanities and Scholarship #Encyclopedia #Epistemology #Law #Legitimacy #Library science #Political science #Politics #Rhetoric #Scope (computer science) #Social media #Sociology #Subject (documents) #Web and Library Services #Wikis in Education and Collaboration #World Wide Web
paper · doi:10.1080/02691728.2011.578306
openalex publication_date 2011/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
This essay extends the observations made in E. Johanna Hartelius’ The rhetoric of expertise about the nature of expertise in digital contexts. I argue that digital media introduce a scale of communication—many-to-many—that reshapes how the invention of knowledge occurs. By examining how knowledge production on Wikipedia occurs, I illustrate how many-to-many communication introduces a new model of “participatory expertise.” This model of participatory expertise challenges traditional information routines by elevating procedural expertise over subject matter expertise and opening up knowledge production to the many. Additionally, by hosting multiperspectival conversations on Wikipedia, the participatory model of expertise introduces epistemic turbulence into traditionally tranquil encyclopedia culture.