In the Beginning was the Commons: Transformative Learning as Praxis for Regenerating the Cultural Commons

Culture is the medium through which human capabilities are transmitted. In this respect, culture may be understood as a commons that is consequential to the future of other forms of commons. Regenerating the commons is inherently and intrinsically associated with democratizing and partnering. The commons of shared meanings that enable truth telling are exploitable by the market when education is dominated by the market. If educational institutions are at the behest of the market and the state, education can neither be a commons nor be in the service of the commons. We can frame this circumstance as an enclosure of learning. Transformative learning facilitates a shifting from the mindset of exploiting the commons to a mindset of regenerating the commons. In fact, the core transformation that occurs in transformative learning is the liberation of awareness from identity enclosure. Such a liberation prepares the ground for growing partnership capabilities from the intimate to the global, essential for preserving and regenerating the commons. An education that transforms seeks to re-sacralize and regenerate culture as a commons, which can then enable partnership-based care towards all other forms of commons.

A life lasts longer than the body through which it moves: An introduction to a special Cultural Commons section on Raymond Williams

This is the introductory essay to a special edition of Cultural Commons, the short-form section in the European Journal of Cultural Studies. This special edition marks the centenary of Raymond Williams’s birth in August 2021. It maps out some of his key work and considers how Williams’s thinking is both foundational for cultural studies – in its ‘bloodstream’ – and yet is now often overlooked, unattributed or unacknowledged. While Williams’s work was limited in the sense that it did not register or account for gender or race, and thus at times has been amenable to regressive interpretations, the essay also considers how his writing has provided theoretical models, political inspiration, and intellectual resources for feminism and anti-imperialism. It concludes by reflecting on the deep, enduring radicalness of his thinking, and argues that rather than disavow it for the silences, absences and limitations, we might continue to build upon, extend and pluralise what remains a rich, vital and urgent body of work.

Cultural Commons and the Law from the Renaissance to Postmodernity: A Case Study

The fourth chapter of the book narrates the history of culture from the prism of the intellectual commons. It thus shifts the focus of analysis from the enclosures of intellectual property law to the significance of intellectual sharing and collaboration across history. Further developing arguments of legal historians over the evolution of copyright this chapter unfolds the argument that, despite their prominence, in recent historical periods socialised creativity and inventiveness have been framed by copyright laws in a way that has suppressed the social potential of the intellectual commons, instead of accommodating them. This theorisation of the intellectual commons across history examines the evolution of the regulation of cultural commons from the Renaissance to postmodernity. Its aim is to examine in parallel, on the one hand, the importance of the commons for art and culture and, on the other hand, the discrepancy of their treatment under positive law.

Towards Heritage Community Assessment: Indicators Proposal for the Self-Evaluation in Faro Convention Network Process

The Faro Convention introduces an innovative concept of cultural heritage by recognising the importance of the community that is formed around the cultural asset to be enhanced. This concept is consistent with the New European Agenda for Culture, especially the European Year Cultural Heritage (EYCH) Initiative 9 “Heritage for all: citizen participation and social innovation”, that promotes a broader understanding of heritage, placing people and communities at the centre and involving them in making decisions about heritage valorisation. The cultural heritage acquires the meaning of common good and has been configured as “cultural commons”, expression of values shared by the heritage community and of the process activated to enhance it. In this perspective, the paper presents a proposal for the integration of the evaluation process identified by the Faro Convention, explaining the appropriate indicators useful for analysing the specificity of the valorisation processes and making them comparable. The methodological proposal was tested for the experience of the Friends of Molo San Vincenzo Heritage Community, activated in Naples, Italy.