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RE: [xmca] HASTAC conversation about openness in academia



For what it is worth, we used "fifth dimension" from string theory and a
NOVA film about what Einstein didn't know. 

-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
Behalf Of Jenna McWilliams
Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 10:58 AM
To: Activity eXtended Mind Culture
Subject: [xmca] HASTAC conversation about openness in academia

I've been working with HASTAC to organize a forum conversation about
openness in academia, and in my opening comments on this topic I included
Mike's recent xmca post about copyright and the 5th Dimension:

The words, 5th Dimension, were not first employed by LCHC, although we used
them in a somewhat unusual way. Remember the band? Probably their name is
trademarked and we are infringing... except that we are too insignificant to
bother with.

My own position, having been raised in California, completed a public
university when it was a public university (now about 80 % privatized), is
that I am bound by my contract as a faculty member to give away my ideas.
The University makes me sign some document these days that says if I invent
something, they get a cut. (Back when i attended UCLA professors had to sign
a loyalty oath... those times may be coming back in addition to
privatization, unfortunately).

I think a really productive discussion could focus on the differences
between what is possible in terms of research in different socio-
political-economic circumstances. The US has gone hyper neoliberal
capitalist, as if everyone was reading Das Kapital. Finland has moved in the
same direction, but perhaps retains some of its past. Brazil has its
restrictions, etc. How does this affect the potentials for developing CHAT
research as a public good? What public?

Meantime, we'll keep trying to give it away. Its all I know how to do, or
care to do.



I'd love to see xmca members join this conversation, which has just opened
at
http://www.hastac.org/forums/hastac-scholars-discussions/openness-academia
. Please see more details below!

Best,
Jenna


Begin forwarded message:

> From: Fiona Barnett <fiona.barnett@duke.edu>
> Date: October 20, 2010 10:41:32 AM EDT
> To: hastac-scholars2011@duke.edu
> Subject: First Forum is Live: Openness in Academia
>
> Announcing the our first HASTAC Scholars forum of the year!
>
> Openness in Academia
>
> http://www.hastac.org/forums/hastac-scholars-discussions/openness-acad
> emia
>
> Hosted by: Jenna McWilliams (Indiana), Jana Remy (UC Irvine) and 
> Susannah McGowan (UCSB)
>
> While the spirit of openness has gained traction in academia, 
> significant challenges exist. How can scholars balance a belief in 
> openness and transparency with requirements to tenure and career 
> advancement? In instruction, how open is too open? How can the 
> university embrace openness and still remain necessary?
>
>
> Please join us for the first HASTAC Scholars Forum: Openness in 
> Academia. In this forum, we'll explore the benefits and challenges of 
> embracing openness in research, teaching, and university policy, with 
> a particular focus on the changing role of academia in an increasingly 
> open culture. How do you approach openness in your work?
>
> The spirit of openness is gaining traction in academia, both with 
> faculty who are coming to embrace openness in their teaching, 
> research, and publications and with administrators who work to 
> introduce openness in institutional policies. More than a dozen major 
> universities now offer some of their course content to the general 
> public through the use of OpenCourseWare or similar tools; hundreds of 
> universities have committed to making research available through open 
> access policies; and more than 5000 open-access journals are 
> publishing scholarly work.  Yet this progress can obscure or restrict 
> important conversations about the significant challenges to embracing 
> openness in academia.
>
> Please join us in a conversation of openness in academia, including on 
> the following questions:
>
> Openness in research and publishing: How can new academics gain 
> prominence in their field while still embracing openness? How can 
> academics and scholars who are committed to openness negotiate this in 
> their interactions with institutions that rely on scarcity and closed 
> access?
>
> Openness in professional and personal identities: To what extent is 
> privacy at odds with openness? How can academics make decisions about 
> how public to make their engagement with non-academic communities and 
> networks? What is the value of or drawback to developing anonymous or 
> pseudonymous identities, and do these conflict with the spirit of 
> openness?
>
> Openness in teaching and learning: How can we engage openly and 
> transparently with our colleagues about what happens in the classroom?  
> How would this affect our students?
>
> Openness in policy: Is openness a threat to the university model?  
> How can institutions embrace openness and still remain necessary?
>
> Invited Guests:
>
> Edward Maloney (Georgetown)
> Joshua Danish (Indiana University)
> Clay Whipkey (OpenCourseWare)
> Mark Sample (George Mason University)
> Please help us think through these issues by logging on now: 
> http://www.hastac.org/scholars . Everyone is welcome to join the 
> conversation, so please pass this on!
>
> We look forward to hearing from you!
>
> Fiona Barnett
> Director, HASTAC Scholars
> Ph.D. candidate
> Literature Program and Women's Studies Duke University 
> fiona.barnett@duke.edu
>
>
>

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