Exploration History and the Circulation of Knowledge

Abstract

The circulation of knowledge is a central theme in exploration history scholarship, covered in works specifically on the theme and also broached in countless studies not dedicated specifically to it. Helge Jordheim, making comments about the focus of this area of research, observes, “Most studies of knowledge circulation, generally inspired by the call to ‘follow the actors,’ set out to trace the movements of certain practices or inscriptions from one site—in the widest possible sense of the word—to another.” While this is a sound observation, it can also be observed that some studies on the circulation of knowledge consider connected issues, such as the close relationship between the production of knowledge and its circulation, and also the impact of other forces (e.g. politics, which have been especially influential in the study of exploration history) on the circulation of knowledge. This broader approach that broaches interconnected issues suggests that there can be numerous facets, or components, to the study of the circulation of knowledge, one of which is the very fundamental issue of what constitutes knowledge, or analyzing what types of knowledge have been considered valuable and worthwhile to collect. A wide range of explorers, with distinct perspectives and interests, have recorded information about geography, climate, plants, animals, ethnography, society, natural resources, economy, politics, and more. Depending on time, place and historical circumstances, types of knowledge deemed valuable varied considerably—e.g. locating a Northwest passage through the Americas became more prominent starting at the end of the fifteenth century, and in the twentiethand