BLOG: Open Anthropology Cooperative

Members might be interested in the Open Anthropology Cooperative:

The OAC was launched on 28 May 2009 by a group of friends who met on Twitter before joining Ning.

The most important word in our title is the first. By this we mean open access, open membership, open to sharing new ideas, open to whatever the organization might do or become; open to everyone, as in ‘open source’. The word ‘open’ is highly contested, including within anthropology. In identifying this network with ‘open anthropology’ we do not imply any specific association with the Open Anthropology Project, Open Anthropology Journal, Open Access Anthropology, or Shared and Open Anthropology.

Anthropology has a distinguished past, but it has an even greater future. We hope that professionals and students who are already committed to the discipline will find here like-minded anthropologists, as well as new tools, resources and opportunities for collaboration. But we also welcome anyone for whom our conversations are interesting. An engaged anthropology for the 21st century should be open to interdisciplinary collaboration. This depends on making full use of the emerging social and technical synthesis entailed in the digital revolution.

We do not have anything specific in mind by calling our network a ‘cooperative’; but we hope that some members will eventually find fruitful ways of working together, as well as enjoying the site as a rich source for individual consumption. We have already started many discussion groups, blogs, a forum and places to share a variety of ideas and materials, including a wiki for more permanent deposits. This is just the beginning: we expect to hold virtual conferences and seminars, to add podcasts, publish longer pieces online and incorporate a variety of social networking devices into our exchanges. We encourage initiatives using languages other than English.

The OAC is for all of us to explore and elaborate. Let the people take over! There is a Forum where you can participate in shaping the Cooperative’s development. A small team of administrators takes responsibility for collective tasks and is available to help you make the most of what is here.