Tale Søfting
Introduction The theme of ISFiT21 is entitled “Creating Knowledge”, which might leave many readers wondering what the theme is really about. This festival’s theme may not be immediately easy to capture, and many will have different interpretations of the theme. It is an interesting and important theme from many aspects, which I will try to explain throughout this introduction.
Creating Knowledge
Knowledge is a broad concept that is defined as “acquaintance of facts, truths or principles” (Dictionary.com, n.d.). The term is widely used to mean something that is unquestionably true. Putting together the words “creating” and “knowledge” can therefore be seen as contradictory. How is it that knowledge can be created, and why is it therefore always defined as true? The reality of the matter is that everything to be read in your curriculum, in dictionaries, or in official documents is created and written by human beings. Everyone involved in the knowledge that circulates are individuals with opinions, personal goals, and perspectives defined by their own life experiences. One person’s conception of the truth might therefore differ widely from someone else’s based on for example their social class, their country of origin, or their family constellation (Tjora, 2020). This is why “Creating Knowledge” is ISFiT21’s theme. We want to create awareness around the bias inherent in knowledge and how 6
every person creates knowledge themselves – and to justify being critical of “known truths”. This does not at all mean that all or most knowledge is false. When it comes to mathematics, for example, it is hard to defend the ‘social construct’ of theorems such as 1+1=2. However, even in natural sciences, these aspects can play a role: for example, in the development of technology. It just means that what we are taught can be biased, in the sense that not all relevant information is included, or in the way that the subject is seen in an entirely different light on the other side of the world. The awareness of this phenomenon can contribute to a more open-minded world where we understand that our truth isn’t necessarily everyone’s truth. The theme is especially relevant in the context of ISFiT, as this festival gathers students from different countries. Students are in the center of knowledge, as everything they are doing in their everyday lives concerns obtaining knowledge and partly creating knowledge in terms of research. Universities and education in general are therefore essential when it comes to the theme, but the theme still covers many different topics. Media and technology are other important aspects as they play a large role in our lives, as students and otherwise. They will most likely continue to grow as important platforms of creating and spreading knowledge, especially as they
