Creating an Accessible Commons

Ethnographic knowledge beyond academia

Abstract

As an anthropologist working outside of academia, I have observed the potential for anthropology to influence and to be influenced is constrained by publishing restrictions. In this article, I discuss how we might address this by opening a flow of knowledge between researchers, research participants/contributors, and decision makers. Through the lens of an indigenous research paradigm, Kaupapa Māori, I consider how this opening up of a knowledge commons can support more ethical explorations of the roles and responsibilities of anthropologists to students, participants, decision makers, business, and communities. In particular, I highlight how anthropologists should create a knowledge commons that expands opportunities to ease structural inequality.