The editors of Currents in Electronic Literacy (an MLA-indexed, peer-reviewed e-journal) seek manuscripts that address the role or the relevance of the cultural commons for those working, teaching, or living in a mediated age.
The term itself has received attention from those on the far left, such as Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, to those defending free-market economics, such as Lawrence Lessig. As new media enable us to collaborate, share information, disseminate texts, and pull from the collective and creative resources that the humanities have traditionally celebrated, we face new challenges on a variety of fronts. What are the legal implications of sharing copyrighted (or copylefted texts)? What constitutes “fair use” in an age when most cultural artifacts can quickly be scanned and posted for public consumption? (How) are we ethically and scholastically obligated to evaluate or cite sources that have been read and reviewed by a worldwide community of arguably critical and invested readers? (How) do profit (or exploitation) work when users determine content willfully and energetically?
