In “Networked Participatory Scholarship: Emergent Techno-Cultural Pressures Toward Open and Digital Scholarship in Online Networks,” George Veletsianos and Royce Kimmons explore the possibly causal, possibly correlated relationship between contemporary scholarly practice and technology. In particular, they focus on the emergence of specific scholarly practices that are situated in online social practices. Veletsianos and Kimmons nominate such scholarly activity as “Networked Participatory Scholarship.” “Networked Participatory Scholarship,” the authors write, “is the emergent practice of scholars’ use of participatory technologies and online social networks to share, reflect upon, critique, improve, validate, and further their scholarship” (768). Networked Participatory Scholarship encapsulates non-traditional scholarly communication practices like social networking on Twitter and writing a personal blog; these activities, while still occurring in the realm of the academy, look very different from other, more formalized scholarly communication like publishing a print article. Nonetheless, Veletsianos and Kimmons argue, the academy will continue to develop and change as technology does, and it is crucial to both track and support scholarly practices that embrace and respond to (inevitable) technological change rather than resist it. In closing, the authors underline this position: “we should take an active role in influencing the future of scholarship and establishing ourselves as productive participants in an increasingly networked and participatory world” (773). In doing so, scholars may more effectively bridge the real or perceived gap between the university system and the rest of society.

 

Work cited

Veletsianos, George, and Royce Kimmons. 2012. “Networked Participatory Scholarship: Emergent Techno-Cultural Pressures Toward Open and Digital Scholarship in Online Networks.” Computers & Education 58(2): 766–74.