Between expert knowledge and everyday knowledge

Knowledge and truths about the human world are produced and negotiated in a variety of arenas and institutions. The aim of this research group is to explore expert knowledge and everyday knowledge, the interaction and the power struggle between them: How is everyday knowledge potentially influenced by various expert knowledges and where, when and why do some forms of knowledge gain power over other forms of knowledge? Some highly relevant fields where expert knowledge and everyday knowledge interacts are religion, health, education, and sexuality.

The research group focuses on these fields, taking its theoretical bearings from the cultural histories of knowledge (e.g. L. Daston), the ethnological studies of the ordinary (e.g. Ehn & Løfgren) and the studies of power/knowledge in the tradition of Michel Foucault. All these traditions have in common a privileging of the ordinary, whether it is “ordinary science” or “everyday life”. We also take our cues from the micro-historical tradition, believing that a detailed examination of individual cases is a most fruitful way to proceed in our studies. The research group is equally interested in the production of knowledge in the expert fields and in the mundane and messy, everyday realm.