[iDC] OurSpace and Greetings!

[charold at u.washington.edu]

Hi Everyone,
I have meant introduce myself to the list for some time now, but since I've been
between houses, jobs, and states, it's been a hectic time.  Nonetheless, I have
been finding the conversations on this list fascinating and am grateful to be a
part of it.

My name is Christine Harold.  I was, until recently an assistant professor at
the University of Georgia and am now at the University of Washington in the
Department of Communication.

My recent book, OurSpace: Resisting the Corporate Control of Culture (2007, U of
Minnesota Press) addresses some issues that I hope will be of interest to many
of you.  In it, I advocate an "open content" ethic as an alternative to
traditional culture jamming for those wanting to respond to corporate hoarding
of cultural material.  My academic background is in rhetoric, so I argue that
the classical Greek concept of "kairos" is a better way to think about ideas and
culture than property (better for both copyright holders and anti-copyright
activists).  Kairos is the art of capitalizing on a particular time and
place--on the relationship between an inventor, her surroundings, and her
community, rather than discrete notions of "turf" or preset goals.

Anyway, I want to invite you to visit a wiki related to the book created by U of
Minnesota Press.  Please feel free to add, tinker, revise as you see fit.
Chapter 5, the chapter that deals most explicitly with issues of collaborative
invention (using Creative Commons as a case study) is available at the site.  I
welcome any and all feedback on the project either here or on the wiki:
http://www.upress.umn.edu/wiki/index.php/OurSpace

I look forward to being a part of this list.  Thanks!
All the best,
Christine Harold