The Encyclopedic Impulse in Religious Studies

It is no mere coincidence that the ongoing revolution in information technology has coincided with an explosive increase of reference works, not the least in religious studies and biblical studies. The unprecedented production rate of such works today led one scholar to dub our times “a golden age o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Relegere
Main Author: Ziolkowski, Eric Jozef 1958- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: University of Otago, Department of Theology and Religion [2015]
In: Relegere
Further subjects:B Reference Works
B Encyclopedias
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Description
Summary:It is no mere coincidence that the ongoing revolution in information technology has coincided with an explosive increase of reference works, not the least in religious studies and biblical studies. The unprecedented production rate of such works today led one scholar to dub our times “a golden age of reference books,” resulting in the challenge of “oversupply.” This article reflects historically upon the basic impulse behind the conceptualizing, planning, and production of large encyclopedias in religious and biblical studies: the sense of information overload, and the desire to bring order to it.
ISSN:1179-7231
Contains:Enthalten in: Relegere
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.11157/rsrr5-2-675