Introduction : What is “Creating Knowledge”?

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 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

permit looking beyond national borders. As ISFiT comes from an international perspective, culture, activism, norms and values are also important. ‘Culture’ contains both the concept of the arts, as cultural arts such as music or poems are used to spread knowledge, and the idea of different cultures around the world, as knowledge is colored by culture. Activism plays an essential role, especially for students, who historically have been eager activists, as viewpoints are affected by what knowledge you have access to and how you perceive different truths according to your background (Jason, 2018). Norms and values are also interesting from an international perspective as culture and religion, which varies from country to country or even locally, will affect the knowledge you obtain, spread, and create. As you can see, knowledge is omnipresent in our lives, regardless of background. Discussions about what that means is important, and therefore, ISFiT21 provides a platform for this to take place.

Theoretical Perspective : Social Constructivism

In order to grasp the concept of “Creating Knowledge” better I have chosen to explain social constructivism as a central theory. There are of course many different ways to understand the theme, and this is only one example. This theory was chosen because it grasps the reasoning behind why it is important to view knowledge as something that is created, and not necessarily unquestionably true. Social constructivism is a postmodernist theory that explains that the reality of each individual is influenced by their previous experiences, their present contacts, and their present situation (Tjora, 2020). This means that what is considered real will vary from person to person, and a person’s construction of reality can change over time or from situation to situation (Tjora, 2020). It is based on the Thomas theorem, which states: “What the human perceives as real, will become real in its consequences” (Tjora, 2020). This indicates that perception is key in understanding different realities. The opposite of social constructivism indicates that the truth exists independent of our categories and concepts (Fuller, p. 171). This includes philosophical rationalism that explains science as the search for truth (Fuller, p. 173.) A common criticism of social constructivism is that it opens up for endless versions of the truth, and creating knowledge, as defined as ‘facts’ or ‘truths’, becomes difficult (Fuller, p. 175). This is a classic example of postmodernist theory, as it makes way for theories to exist side by side, in contrast to the previous positivist tradition that searched for an ultimate truth (Britannica, n.d.).

Reader’s Guide

Introduction

As you probably already have understood, the introduction of this report aims to help you better understand what ISFiT21’s theme is trying to capture. I hope it gave you practical and theoretical insight into the theme, and that you were eager to continue reading in order to understand the more specific aspects of the theme.

Thematic Overview

ISFiT21 operates with six thematic directions to better map out the broad theme. These thematic directions are academia and educational

systems, culture and activism, media, tech-

nology, knowledge as power and norms and values. These directions represent areas in society where knowledge is created and spread, and they all bring up different issues.

In the section named “Thematic Overview”, the six thematic directions will be explained more in detail. We will clarify how they are connected to the overall theme and define central concepts. This overview will also explain which of the cases are relevant for which thematic direction, and why. This might give you some insight into which cases you will want to read more closely according to your field of interest. This section is also a great way to get to know the theme better in terms for how it is relevant in one’s daily life, as a student or otherwise.

Cases

The report will investigate four different cases which together cover more or less all of the six thematic directions. These cases aim to help one feel more aware and informed of knowledge as something that is constantly being created, recreated, and unequally spread by the end of reading this report. At the beginning of each case you can read an abstract explaining the essential points of the case.

The four cases are all built up the same way. They each focus on a specific research question connected to “Creating Knowledge”, which they try to answer using various research methods. They all start with an introduction explaining the relevance of the topic, as well as mapping out previous research and introducing what the rest of the case will include. The second part of each case is a chapter explaining relevant background information about the chosen topic, and in some cases some theory is included if it is relevant to the analysis. This chapter is especially interesting to read if you are interested in the topic overall, and not necessarily only the specific research question. The methodology chapter that follows is important to include in such cases in order for you as a reader to understand how the research is conducted, and to explain any methodological problems that might have affected the conclusions. It will help you understand to what extent the research is to be trusted, and to which situations it may be applicable. This is especially important considering that the theme is “Creating Knowledge”, and as an organization and individuals we also need to be aware of our role in creating knowledge. Finally you will find the chapter that includes the analysis and discussion, which brings forward interesting information regarding the research question. Potential answers to the research question are discussed based on empirical material, and it is viewed in relation to what is introduced in the chapter of background and theory. The case is then concluded with a short summary and reflections upon interesting studies to follow this one up with. All references are to be found at the end of the report.