The Knowledge Context

Comparative Perspectives on the Distribution of Knowledge

By Philip G. Altbach

Subjects: Third World Studies
Paperback : 9780887064456, 203 pages, July 1987
Hardcover : 9780887064449, 203 pages, July 1987

Alternative formats available from:

View Table of Contents

Request Desk or Examination Copy
Request a Media Review Copy

Table of contents

Foreword
Introduction

THE KNOWLEDGE NETWORK
1. Publishing and the Intellectual System
2. Literary Colonialism: Books in the Third World
3. Scholarly Publishing in the Third World
4. Center and Periphery: The Case of India
5. Higher Education and International Knowledge Distribution

THEMES AND VARIATIONS
6. Knowledge Enigma: The Context of Copyright in the Third World
7. Textbooks in the Third World
8. The Role and Nurturing of Journals in the Third World
9. Book Publishing in a Developing Regional Culture: The Case of Maharashtra, India
10. Access to Knowledge Networks: Problems and Possibilities for Southeast Asian Scholarly Books
Epilogue. Knowledge Networks in the Modern World

Notes
Index

Description

The Knowledge Context adds an important, new dimension to the study of publishing and the distribuition of knowledge in the international arena. Drawing from more than a decade of research, Philip G. Altbach examines a variety of issues including international copyright, textbooks, technological developments in publishing, and the role of book distribution. Those interested in publishing and the dissemination of knowledge will find this a helpful resource for understanding this critical enterprise.

Philip G. Altbach is Professor in the Department of Educational Organization, Administration and Policy Studies, and Director of the Comparative Education Center at State University of New York at Buffalo. He is also the editor of a SUNY Press book publication series, Frontiers in Education.

Reviews

"Phil Altbach presents well the dilemma faced by Third World countries in their search for wider access to the knowledge and technical know-how produced in the industrialized nations. He makes a convincing case for the need of Third World nations to develop their own publishing skills and institutions for a variety of important reasons. Obviously sympathetic to the position of Third World countries at what he calls the periphery of the knowledge context, Altbach nevertheless strives for an even handed description of the roots of their difficulties, including an impartial appraisal of the much debated issue of the merits of state publishing versus private sector initiatives."—Peter H. Neumann, President, Peter H. Neumann Associates, Inc.