We are pleased to announce the launch of the Material World Occasional Paper Series, in which we make available longer, more formal texts (and other forms suitable for digital publishing) that would not otherwise be widely accessible and which we feel develop the critical framework on material and visual culture that we aim to promote through Material World Blog.
Our Occasional Paper Series is peer reviewed and is indexed as a serial by the Library of Congress as:
Material World Occasional Papers Series
ISSN 2158-5660
Our inaugural paper is by Dr. Jane Anderson (UMASS) and Dr. Gregory Younging (UBC) on the use of cultural protocols in protecting indigenous knowledge. The paper was prepared for a Canadian Public Art Funders Professional Development Meeting on Aboriginal Arts.
Jane Anderson and Gregory Younging
Discussion Paper on Protocols
ABSTRACT
The last ten years has seen the development of intellectual property protocols for Indigenous knowledge protection. These protocols cover a matrix of interests and audiences and range from the specific to the more general. Protocols are context driven policy and provide guidelines for behavior. In this sense they function to change people’s understanding of an issue, and in this context they seek to encourage reflective behavior when it comes to Indigenous knowledge use and misuse. This paper will explore the pragmatic utility of protocols. As protocols are not dependent upon the adoption of new legislation, it is possible for them to be driven by contextual needs as well as responsive to changing expectations of law. Protocols provide one innovative tool for the protection of Indigenous knowledge. The paper will discuss this current trend; considering what works, and what doesn’t, and why protocols offer a practical possibility for protecting contextual and community generated knowledge and knowledge practice.
The full paper can be downloaded here: PROTOCOLS_DiscussionPaper
Those interested in submitting a longer paper for publication in the Material World Occasional Paper Series should email Haidy Geismar
2014-08-07