Introduction: lieux de savoir and archéologie du savoir

Abstract

The introduction to this special collection addresses a fundamental issue: the link between savoir/knowledge and the spatial turn in the humanities. This point, which will be the connecting thread of the articles to be published in the collection, is addressed and discussed through an analysis of two books that have significantly influenced theoretical reflection in the mentioned field: Michel Foucault's L'Archéologie du savoir (1969) and Christian Jacob's Qu'est-ce qu'un lieu de savoir? (2014). Keeping in mind the theoretical developments of the past half century, the introduction will look back on Foucault's concepts in order to see how they can be re-read in the light of recent developments in the spatial humanities and in particular in connection with the concept of lieux de savoir and the history of (religious) reading and knowledge transfer in medieval and early modern culture.

Keywords

• spatial turn
• knowledge
• lieux de savoir
• history of reading
• medieval and early modern culture