Data. Together. Let's read about it

Knowledge Commons

Let’s revisit last semester’s ideas around governing the commons, but with more emphasis and focus on how knowledge, information, and digital data might be treated and governed as common pool resources.

Readings

Ostrom and Hess “A Framework for Analyzing the Knowledge Commons” (Chapter 3, pages 41-81 of Understanding Knowledge as a Commons) (http://www.wtf.tw/ref/hess_ostrom_2007.pdf)
Melanie Dulong de Rosnay, Hervé Le Crosnier. An Introduction to the Digital Commons: From Common-Pool Resources to Community Governance., 2012.
This twitter thread from mmildenberger: https://twitter.com/mmildenberger/status/1102604887223750657 (Spooled)
Garrett Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons”

What is an “environmental” commons? Reflect back on readings from last year.
What is a knowledge commons?
What important similarities and differences can we notice between these two types of commons?
Ostrom/Hess and Dulong et al. discuss examples of knowledge/digital commons like library repositories and Wikipedia. What about social networks?
What is the relationship between a knowledge commons & enclosure?
How do themes from these readings apply to organizations like EDGI?
What is the tragedy of the digital commons? How might this differ from tragedies in other kinds of commons? What are the limits of the "tragedy" model in the first place?
Leave some time at the end to discuss the next reading

Background reminding ourselves of context of this topic from last year

read Ostrom on environmental common pool resources
wrangling with decentralization (setting this aside until August) and the need to relate this to technical infrastructures brought us to this set of readings

Start with Ostrom/Hess: dig into good framework they provide us for discussion

What stood out to us?

Copy this template into a new notepad to take notes for your reading group's discussion!