Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences

This was a truly eye-opening read. One does not think that you are going to be finding a particularly engaging read when it comes to classification, and at some points it honestly isn't. But Bowker and Star do address the fact that their method at bottom is one that can be at time down right boring. The book picks up though in its analyses from the ICD to tuberculosis lit. reviews and cultural classifications of apartheid in a way that makes it that you have to feel on a personal level the effects of the classification that they are pointing out. So what is the point? Classification, whether we like it or not, is something that we do. And we have been doing it misguidedly. By not looking at the preexisting structures around us we miss show more the nuances that reveal so much about ourselves. The biggest thing is that, however much faith and lack of thought we give to them - they are guiding every aspect of our lives. This alone makes the book a worthwhile read. But what Bowker and Star really do is go into the ethical/political implications of these structures and try to find a way by which we could better organize the world so as to fully assimilate the "monster" and the "cyborg" as realities that we can't just push to the wayside. It is about embracing our multiplicities. Now, I do have a quesiton. Some of the new vocabulary that Bowker and Star propose to make this change is simply not there and so they themselves don't offer much of a starting point. They simply say that it is needed. But being aware of the problem can be just as important as trying to solve it and so as a descriptive analysis one should not expect from them a grand unifying theory. show less

This book lies somewhere in-between the accessible narrative examples of classification in Everything is Miscellaneous and the dense cognitive science in Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things. Sorting Things Out is far more detailed and organized than the former, but much more approachable than the latter.
The book attempts to answer three questions: “What work do classifications and standards do” “Who does that work?”, and “What happens to the cases that do not fit?” The authors answer these questions by exploring how classification relates to infrastructures, to the lives of individuals (“biography” ), and to work. In exploring these aspects of classification, the authors place a heavy emphasis on health and medicine, often show more using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), the Nursing Intervention Classification (NIC) and the International Classification and Nomenclature of Viruses (INV) as a examples of classification systems, the International Nomenclature of Diseases (IND) as an example of nomenclature, and HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis as examples of shifts in classification. Consequently, this work would best be suited for those researching classification in the health fields, as the information related to the classifications and nomenclature are very subject-specific.
Sorting Things Out does more to evaluate the historical and practical application of classification and categories relating to people (human diseases, apartheid) rather than the things people use (books, journals). In terms of library science, this book adds some good context to real world classification and how categories can be created and applied on a large scale, but offers little for anyone looking for library-specific classification theory or explanation. show less

This book tackles classification theory head on. Though dry and academic, the authors are able to liven up the subject with many examples. They successfully demonstrate the potential political and ethical consequences categories can have.

A thorough and systematic analysis of classification schemes and the various infrastructures (e.g., professional, educational, social) that they support. The authors ground their discussion of classification in pragmatism, noting the importance of classification for creating objects of focus and defining the boundaries of how we interact (or don't interact) with them. Some of the details of classifications get a little lost in the details of the case studies (chapters 2-8) but the summary chapters after (9 & 10) draw the threads together nicely and show the edges of the theory they have been developing. The case studies themselves are interesting and should be enough to sustain many readers' interests.

After a spectacular start with a discussion of infrastructure (and particularly classification as infrastructure), its pervasiveness, and its power to shape our lives and perceptions, this book switches tack and moves with little rigor between anecdotes, exceptions, and colorful but superficial terms. The end result is a mish-mash of observations that do little to advance the theoretical arguments further; I had to remind myself of the clarity and power of the first few chapters to realize there is much valuable content in the book.

I read this book from the perspective of a library student, which will differ from those reading it for its sociological issues. As a library student, I found little of use in this book. Combined with convoluted language, it left me with a poor impression of the book overall. Having said that, I believe that the authors have some very important things to say about the moral and practical implications of classification. Also, the chapter on race classification in South Africa under Apartheid was fascinating. The book is worth it for that chapter alone.

This book intertwines a history of various classification schemes, taxonomies, and catalogues with an explanation of the human desire to classify and organise. It's a great read, and a fascinating subject.