Characteristics of Poststructuralism in Jesse Shera’s Social Epistemology

Abstract

Jesse Shera (1903–1982) was a twentieth-century American librarian and information scientist. This article discusses Shera’s social epistemology (SE) and its similarities with structuralism and poststructuralism. Previous research on Shera’s SE has clarified its position and influences. John Budd has pointed out that his SE was sociological rather than philosophical, resembling a sociology of knowledge, while Jonathan Furner adduced similarities between Shera’s SE and related areas, such as the sociology of science, and showed that Shera’s SE was influenced by Paul Otlet. Patrick Wilson frames his body of research as an extension of Shera’s SE. Accordingly, I show that Shera’s SE exhibits characteristics of structuralism and poststructuralism. Shera argued that the semantic relationship between two groups of written materials depends on the perceptions of the individuals (or groups) involved, rejecting traditional library classification methodology aimed at a universal classification of knowledge that was the contemporary mainstream. This article discusses the background of Shera’s poststructuralism.