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From Work to Conversation: Writing and Citizenship in a Global Age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2020

Abstract

In the last few years, a growing number of writers and artists have begun to develop a new form of verbal art. They no longer devote themselves to individually writing fixed texts destined to be read in solitude and silence. Instead, they are designing mechanisms that enable large and heterogeneous groups to collaborate on projects that combine the production of discourses, the exploration of knowledge about local circumstances, and the invention of potential socialities. These projects intend to foster forms of cosmopolitan citizenship in a globalized world at a time of expanding digital technologies. The article describes some crucial aspects of this process through a reading of two projects: a platform for collaborative translation on the Internet designed by the American artists Warren Sack and Sawad Brooks and an “open-source narrative” by the Italian collective Wu Ming.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 2007

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