About the kn/own/able project

“Knowing” and “owning” seem like two separate things in our modern globalized world, with “science” often viewed as the main form of knowledge and law (such as intellectual property) as the dominant form of ownership. 

But are knowledge and its ownership really separate? 

The goal of the kn/own/able project is to demonstrate how “knowing” and “owning” are indivisible, or  kn/own/able. This spans academic and wider social spheres, and has impacts across (de)colonialism, heritage, law, environmental change, science development and more. 

Through academic publications, multimedia projects, and events—and more—we seek to spark further discussion, empower researchers with new interdisciplinary methods, and instigate social change around the unity of knowledge and ownership.

Learn more on the  knownable.org website, where you can find explainer videos, graphics, and podcast episodes,  latest news and events, and the open-access book.

Join us: in search of kn/own/ables

Do you have an idea or case study that challenges normative ideas about knowledge and ownership?  Do you see knowledge inequality in your case? Are you uncomfortable with hierarchies that research reproduces?  

The kn/own/able project welcomes your case studies and ideas for further collaboration. If you're a researcher, student, or practitioner (of any discipline!) we invite you to submit your own case (to:  kn_own_able@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de) that challenges normative ideas and preconceptions around knowledge ownership. 

Please include a couple of lines about your case study and some preferred ideas or formats that you might be interested in working with—for example text, art/graphics, or videos. You are welcome to pitch any idea, including those that disagree with our framework! We are open to finding ways to share cases through audio, video, and graphic formats as well as interdisciplinary workshops, teaching, and publications. Related experience in these formats is not necessarily needed—we are looking to work together with practitioners in these fields and in providing related learning opportunities. 

There is no deadline; pitches and inquiries are accepted on an ongoing basis.

We will also be running a series of related academic events and creative workshops in the academic year 2024–25, which will be announced here on the kn/own/able website in due course.

We look forward to working together with you on this project towards social and research change.

Best wishes, 

Dagmar Schäfer and Annapurna Mamidipudi

MPIWG Department III: Artifacts, Action, Knowledge