Katherine Skinner, Executive Director, Educopia Institute

New FrontiersAtlanta, GAMarch 21-23, 2013

Skinner 2013http://www.flickr.com/photos/jvoves/8248153196/

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Has the sky fallen before? Many, many times

What can we learn from those examples? Significant cultural events, including activism, often

allow specifically for the emergence of new fields Innovations don’t come from the center, they come

from unexpected locations Cultural processes of production, distribution, and

reception depend upon networks of people

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Once prevalent thought: Business logics and models exert dangerously

stable control over production, distribution, and reception of cultural products

(Adorno, Bagdikian, Hall, Hebdige)

Now, more common understanding: Fields/genres are social constructions with

organizing principles that are always in flux and that depend upon networks of people

(DiMaggio, Leblebici, Peterson, Negus )

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Big question: What can we do with/in networks and communities to support new forms of scholarship AND to help the academy transition in ways that ultimately supports the spread of knowledge?

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Build a lightweight “center” Use it to help communities learn &

build & innovate & respond to rapid change

Embed knowledge and infrastructure within the communities, not at the “center”

Educopia as point of resource coordination and focus

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As a "publication," Slavevoyages needs: Well-defined relationships and commitments that can survive

administrative changes A credit mechanism that identifies the broad international

community that has created/maintained the resource over time Ways of establishing and gathering metrics that can

demonstrate the use-value of the resource in an ongoing manner An outreach mechanism that continues to attract and involve

new communities of users A set of revenue/funding streams that can support the cost of its

upkeep Entities committed to updating and upkeeping the resource

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Multi-institutional partnershipNeutral centerMultiple revenue streamsDistribution of workConcentrated effort toward unified

goal

Skinner 2013 Source: Mike Randolph, booooooom.com

Scholars in controlLegal relationships clearPrevent any single failure point

(technical, administrative)Foster new energy, innovation,

investment by multiple communities scholars, librarians, technologists,

administrators, teachers, independent researchers, etc.

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