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11 - The Sociology of Official Information Gathering

Enumeration, Influence, Reactivity, and Power of States and Societies

from II - Media Explosion, Knowledge as Power, and Demographic Reversals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2020

By
Rebecca Jean Emigh ,
Dylan Riley  and
Patricia Ahmed
Edited by
Thomas Janoski ,
Cedric de Leon ,
Joya Misra  and
Isaac William Martin
Thomas Janoski
Affiliation:
University of Kentucky
Cedric de Leon
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Joya Misra
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Isaac William Martin
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
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Summary

The government collects a barrage of information through censuses, registration, licenses, permits, and geographical information, so official information is a ubiquitous part of contemporary life. The sociology of official statistics analyzes this activity (Starr 1987: 7). The overall thrust of this work shows that official information gathering is socially constructed, that is, it is influenced by social and historical conditions, and it influences the reality that it supposedly describes.

Keywords

informationpowerMichel Foucaultofficial informationcommensurationtransformationinfluenceCensussurveillanceclassificatsioninstitutionalization
Type
Chapter
Information
The New Handbook of Political Sociology , pp. 290 - 320
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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