>[!INFO]+ Meta >Author:: Kevin Murray >Area:: [[50 - Craft knowledge]] >Date:: 2023-09-24 >Reference:: https://www.academia.edu/107108793/From_encyclopedia_to_knowledge_house_The_democratic_evolution_of_craft_taxonomies >Tags:: #text #knowledge # _FROM ENCYCLOPEDIA TO KNOWLEDGE HOUSE: THE DEMOCRATIC EVOLUTION OF CRAFT TAXONOMIES_ Dr Kevin Murray Abstract In the past, knowledge projects such as encyclopedias extract information in ways that serve the dominant interests, rather than subjects who hold that knowledge. This is beginning to change now with developments such as the practitioner-researcher. Outside the universities, there are now projects that are more geared to the interests of craftspersons. The World Crafts Council encyclopedia, Garland magazine and the Knowledge House for Craft offer different models for knowledge sharing that counteract the extractivist model of knowledge production.[[MOU1]](#_msocom_1)  _Keywords: encyclopedia, material knowledge, story-telling, knowledge graph_ Introduction - How to ground knowledge There is an apparent consensus in the Nordic academic craft discourse that the making process constitutes a form of knowledge in itself. The thought of Camilla Groth (2017), for instance, refers to a Heideggerian framework in which being precedes thought. According to this perspective, our knowledge of the world is grounded in our existence within it, particularly its physical being. This is evident in the extensive use of physical metaphors to describe thinking, such as "grasping" ideas. This embodied epistemology has underpinned the formation of various research groups in the domain of experiential knowledge, such as Craft Sciences at the Craft Laboratory, University of Gothenburg (Westerlund, Groth & Almevik 2021) , Kristina Niedderer’s Experiential Knowledge Special Interest Group[[MOU2]](#_msocom_2)  at Manchester University, Marte S. Gulliksen’s Embodied Making And Learning (EMAL) [[MOU3]](#_msocom_3) at University of South-Eastern Norway and in England, Katherine Townsend’s Digital Craft & Embodied Knowledge Research Group. The common focus in these groups is the intrinsic role of the hand in the making process. In this paper I will reference their concept of the academic practitioner-researcher with the “thinker-maker”.  [[MOU4]](#_msocom_4)  My approach in this paper is parallel to these groups but focuses more on the politics of knowledge: Whose voices contribute to knowledge and in whose interests does it serve? Like the Nordic school, this approach seeks to redress the hierarchy that often takes craft for granted. However, different to the Nordic school, the focus is on the power structures involved in knowledge production. In this paper, I will explore this perspective in social practices of knowledge production outside the academy, including the encyclopedia, the thinker-maker role and the knowledge graph. How might knowledge be produced differently if we incorporate the voice of making? Are abstract platforms like encyclopedias still relevant? What knowledge platforms might be more “maker friendly”? Extractivist epistemologies The Platonic model posits abstract forms which subsume material reality. As in the allegory of the cave, the physical world is seen as secondary to the metaphysical realm. So, the neo-Platonist Plotinus writes, “to lift clay into the heavens is against nature” (1969, p.86) In the Western tradition, Platonism provided a foundation for the elevation of _via contemplativa_ over _via activa_, the life of contemplation over the active life_._ This hierarchy has been interpreted as serving the Christian priestly class. [[MOU5]](#_msocom_5) This hegemonic function has been proposed and critiqued by Nietzsche and then Foucault. As Foucault (1980) writes, "The Platonic notion that true knowledge is found in the realm of pure ideas has been used throughout history to justify forms of domination and oppression by those who claim to possess such knowledge." The sociologist Raewyn Connell (2007) has additionally argued that this hierarchy operates globally in the distinction between the knowledge centres of the metropole and the data it gathers from the periphery.  As she writes, "The concept of 'intellectual imperialism' marks the way in which some forms of knowledge are extracted from subordinate societies and then used to dominate those societies." (2007, p. 27) So, the global South is a region where data is gathered according to theoretical frameworks developed in the metropole, such as the sociology of Durkheim or Weber. This critique has since been extended by Indigenous writers such as Linda Tuhiwai Smith (2012). A primary target for this critique has been anthropology, which extracts cultural knowledge for peripheral peoples to produce books and articles which a rarely consumed by its subjects. According to extractivist model, information is gathered from the practical world in order to manage it. Thus managers, academics and journalists are seen to conduct research on craftspersons to fit narratives that serve dominant interests, such as dying crafts that need outside intervention to survive. Those with practical skills are presumed not to have the self-consciousness to be able to oversee their situation. The encyclopedia project This extractivist mode of knowledge gathering is evident in the encyclopedia project. The history of the encyclopedia is entwined with empire. Pliny the Elder’s _A Natural History_ (Naturalis Historia), from the first century, [[MOU6]](#_msocom_6) compiled information from the Roman world and beyond over 42 volumes. During the Mamluk dynasty in 14th century Egypt, al-Nuwayrī produced an encyclopedia of over 9,000 pages documenting the nature and cultures of the greater empire (Muhanna, 2018). And as the apotheosis of the European enlightenment, Diderot and d'Alembert produced the 28-volume _Encyclopédie_, [[MOU7]](#_msocom_7) from the 18th century, which featured articles on the manual arts carefully illustrated in 2885 boards by Jacques-Louis Goussier that were drawn after visiting workshops. While acknowledging the importance of these mechanical arts, there were no voices of the artisans in the publication itself. This extractivist model of knowledge gathering is particularly evident in our own time with Big Data, which harvests online activities in order to better manage the world of the users. Given the complicity of the encyclopedia with a knowledge hierarchy, how might it be reformed to be more democratic? The conventional print encyclopedia has now been replaced by the online database in Wikipedia. This is more democratic in the way it is compiled, with anyone able to contribute to an entry. But with such a broad database of now nearly seven million articles, it is hard to distil a craft focus on Wikipedia. Fortunately, there have been recent initiatives that aim specifically to compile a comprehensive knowledge base of the crafts. World Crafts Council encyclopedia of crafts The encyclopedia can provide an abstract but comprehensive means of recognition for local craft identities. In 2015, the President of the World Crafts Council Asia Pacific Region, Dr Ghada Hijjawi-Qaddumi, initiated an encyclopedia of crafts in her region (WCC-Asia Pacific Region, 2023). This included 500 entries from 50 countries in the Asia Pacific. The main goal of the encyclopedia is to bring different cultures together: “While this Encyclopedia helps to instil in each community a sense of great pride, it also opens such communities to a diversified spectrum of other cultures by establishing common grounds across the boundaries for networking.” As coordinating editor, my role was to ensure scientific standards and consistency. But unlike previous projects, such as Diderot and D’Alembert’s _Encyclopèdie_, the editor did not determine the specific entries that were featured. In this case, regional editors worked with national bodies to determine which crafts should be featured. This facilitated the inclusion of techniques that would not feature in a standard craft encyclopedia, such as soap-making from Nablus in Palestine.[[MOU8]](#_msocom_8)  The democratic structure was limited by practical considerations. It is possible that some national bodies did not feature particular ethnic minorities or migrant communities. Extra resources would be needed to survey communities in remote areas. But as a body representing craftspersons, at least the World Crafts Council provides a relatively autonomous structure. While most of the writers were craft specialists, the entries were constructed so that readers could be directed to places where such crafts can be found today, thus promoting the work of living practitioners. There are plans also to provide certificates for those craftspersons who practice crafts featured in the encyclopedia, so visitors to their workshop can see that what is being made has global significance. This project has now extended to include Latin America. The local input in this case is at the country level. What is emerging from this project is a greater emphasis on place, as many craft practices in Latin America are associated with pueblos and tight-knit rural communities. The efficacy of this devolved encyclopedia project is yet to be judged, but the framework is that it offers recognition of the importance of local crafts. This is exercised through the representational structure of national craft entities. Thinker-maker A more open platform is found in Garland magazine, in partnership with World Crafts Council – Australia. As a magazine, it publishes stories behind what is made around the wider world. Each issue of the magazine reaches more than 45,000 readers and has so far published 1577 articles by 773 writers from 76 countries. The content is offered for free. It takes no advertising, but depends on support from its readers. The platform is guided by a group of story-keepers representing different counties and knowledge keepers who advise on indigenous matter. Garland’s focus is on the particular and unique elements in a specific craft practice. Where possible, the stories are told through the voice of the maker. The story provides a specific time and place in which to connect with the reader, who takes a journey in the article through the process of making. The narrative form is preferred as it manifests the relationship between craft and ethical knowledge. The key ethical principle that has emerged is the circularity in which the craft product contributes to its conditions of being. This can involve recycling, supporting nature and land rights for Indigenous peoples. This contrasts with the framework of the visual arts, which operates in a more symbolic manner separate from the world. Over time, this began to be known as "story-making". This is based on narrative materialism, whose central principle is that stories need somewhere to live. By embedding stories in objects, they can become part of our everyday life such as how we dress, how we come together to eat and what we exchange with others as gifts. A reference for this is contemporary Aristotelian thought. For Alasdair MacIntyre (2013), the virtues are not derived from abstract principles but are found in concrete practices shared within a community. As MacIntyre writes, "I can only answer the question 'What am I to do?' if I can answer the prior question 'Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?'" A canonical story shared by many on the platform is the “lost garden”: the search for past techniques that can be translated into contemporary form. This narrative framework underpins what we might call a “craft renaissance”. It became evident that many of Garland's writers and readers were university graduates. This is a unique generation of craft practitioners who were academically qualified and familiar with theory. Of course, only a very few could find employment within the university system. The challenge was to find a way to engage their new skills outside the academy. This challenge was met by the development of the thinker-maker. The first thinker-maker was Tyson Yunkaporta. His highly influential book _Sand Talk_ (2019), is based around a series of weapons that he carved for each of the chapters. This draws on the word _umpan_, which means both writing and carving. The "making" that Yunkaporta performs is a testament to the importance of the idea. The skill and labour dedicated to the fabrication of the objects signal its importance. This is the ethical dimension of knowledge in the application of theory to everyday life.  FIGURE 1. Kyoko Hashimoto, _Round and Square Aluminium and Bauxite Mirrors_, 2021, aluminium, bauxite, 660 x 570 x 220 and 401 x 360 x 136., photo; Traianos Pakioufakis One of the thinker-makers, Kyoto Hashimoto (2022) [[MOU9]](#_msocom_9) made a mirror out of polished aluminum. But rather than use processed materials, this project entailed prospecting for bauxite and processing it into aluminum herself. But this means, the work was able to localise a process that is otherwise associated with industry beyond individual agency. At the same time, as a maker of Japanese heritage, the mirror form that was produced had significance within the Shinto tradition, in which it is seen to reflect the spirit world. The thinker-maker residencies were framed around a binary opposition. For Hashimoto, the particular binary in question was the opposition between realms of representation and the reality it depicts. The process of making materialises the mirror. What this demonstrates is the capacity of material knowledge to combine mutually exclusive elements: in this case, the realms of matter and representation. This is a three-dimensional thinking that offers greater complexity than the flattened nature of abstract thought. The thinker-makers find a home for the stories we value. The skill and knowledge they dedicate to this process offer testimony to the value of those stories. As a practical engagement in the world, these stories often contain contradictory positions. Knowledge House of Craft The challenge is to find a world for this new hybrid thinker-maker. The university is usually limited to those with academic positions. The next step was to develop an association that would be open to practitioners. The Knowledge House for Craft (2023) was established more than three years ago by a group of thinker-makers and independent scholars [[MOU10]](#_msocom_10) from Australia, Tonga, Samoa, India, China, Japan and Senegal. This group come together to create a product, a knowledge graph. It uses the metaphor of knowledge weaving to reflect the diagonal relationship between the warp of published references and the weft of linking concepts.  FIGURE 2. Screenshot of Knowledge House for Craft graph highlighting to links related to the Environmental value of craft. The knowledge graph as a form was developed by Google. It has been assisted recently by the development of a number of applications that function as a kind of spreadsheet of thought. The specific platform used [[MOU11]](#_msocom_11) by the Knowledge House for Craft is Obsidian[[MOU12]](#_msocom_12) , which itself is grounded in a material metaphor of a knapped stone. Obsidian is one of a generation of note-taking applications that emerged in the past five years for creating shared knowledge graphs. Information is stores in a markdown format that does not depend on any proprietary system, such as Microsoft or Google. By linking a note, it then appears as a “backlink” on the linked note. Unlike the formal bureaucratic style of academic gathering, the culture of the “knowledge house” draws from the cultural diversity of the association. The Tongan members implemented a salutation at the beginning of talks that brought members together in reference to a specific cultural value. This reflects the customary basis of a “knowledge house” in sustaining rituals and stories that underpin the community. The Obsidian vault is produced by a process known as “knowledge weaving”. This draws on the weaving process as a metaphor for knowledge production. References are like unprocessed fibre that is “spun” into their key findings. These are then arranged as a warp to be woven by identifying the connected threads, or warp. For instance, in the Value of Craft Project, the reference about the Pet Lamp Project is threaded with the “Environmental value of craft”. The knowledge graph then links it to all the other references to this value. The weaving is done collectively online. The Knowledge House for Craft is still in development. A board consortium of organisations that create and maintain craft knowledge is being created that includes craft associations and local museums as well as universities. The current focus is to place knowledge in the service of championing craft. As a not-for-profit association, it offers a forum for ideas that is accessible to non-academic practitioners. Conclusion The process of theoretical development [[MOU13]](#_msocom_13) in the crafts can provide an alternative to the extractivist models that have characterised its practice in the past. This often involves setting up collective structures that allow craft voices to have a say. In the process, craft offers a means [[MOU14]](#_msocom_14) to give meaning through the stories that it embodies. The model of the practitioner-researcher found in northern Europe has been ground-breaking in giving craftspersons a voice in the academy. Developments such as the World Crafts Council encyclopedia and the Knowledge House for Craft seek to extend this model outside the universities. These are early days. The new tools for knowledge production, such as the graph, offer great promise. Alternatives for processed knowledge such as ChatGPT have the potential to undermine this process by depriving participants of their agency. We must grasp ideas, with both hands. References Connell, R. 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