The enclosure of knowledge
books, power and agrarian capitalism in Britain, 1660-1800
- ISBN: 9781009048736
- Editorial: Cambridge University Press
- Fecha de la edición: 2024
- Lugar de la edición: Cambridge . Reino Unido
- Colección: Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History
- Encuadernación: Rústica
- Medidas: 24 cm
- Nº Pág.: 344
- Idiomas: Inglés
The rise of agrarian capitalism in Britain is usually told as a story about markets, land and wages. The Enclosure of Knowledge reveals that it was also about books, knowledge and expertise. It argues that during the early modern period, farming books were a key tool in the appropriation of the traditional art of husbandry possessed by farm workers of all kinds. It challenges the dominant narrative of an agricultural 'enlightenment', in which books merely spread useful knowledge, by showing how codified knowledge was used to assert greater managerial control over land and labour. The proliferation of printed books helped divide mental and manual labour to facilitate emerging social divisions between labourers, managers and landowners. The cumulative effect was the slow enclosure of customary knowledge. By synthesising diverse theoretical insights, this study opens up a new social history of agricultural knowledge and reinvigorates long-term histories of knowledge under capitalism.
Introduction: Pen over plough
Rethinking agricultural books, knowledge and labour
Learning without books : the mystery of husbandry
Standing on the shoulders of peasants : the appropriation of the art of husbandry
Learning without labour : codification and managerial knowledge
Dividing head & hand : gentleman farmers, agriculturists and expertise
Monopolising knowledge : professionalisation, education and stewards
The master should know more : book-farming, power and resistance
Conclusion: New histories of knowledge
