[COMM-ORG] new book: Liberating Voices

[Discussion list for COMM-ORG]

[ed: congrats to Doug on the culmination of this long project.]

From: Douglas Schuler <douglas at publicsphereproject.org>

"Liberating Voices: A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution" Is 
Now Available!

After eight years of work, the book on our information and communication 
pattern language project, "Liberating Voices: A Pattern Language for 
Communication Revolution," is finally available. Liberating Voices 
brings together a multitude of ideas and suggestions from a variety of 
perspectives including activism and social change, education, community 
informatics, governance, media, development, information science, 
economics, journalism, arts and culture.

We believe that this book can be used by researchers, by practitioners 
in a variety of fields including teachers in the classroom, by 
activists, and by citizens and community members throughout the world.

I'm writing to you as a colleague or, in some cases, as a person whom 
I've never met but whose work I admire. In either case I'm hopeful that 
you'd find this work compelling. If you do, please read this note and 
send it along to friends and colleagues who might also be interested.

I believe that this book is particularly relevant at this time in 
history. It is a holistic call to arms for social change based on a 
revolution in grassroots information and communication. It takes the 
form of a pattern language that contains 136 patterns. Each pattern is a 
template for research as well as social critique and action. And each 
patterns is linked to other patterns into a single coherent whole. We 
(myself and 85 co-authors) have tried to show that the struggle for 
liberatory information and communication systems is absolutely critical.

In recent decades we have witnessed the creation of communication 
systems that promise unparalleled connectedness. Now is the time to 
unleash our collective creativity—social as well as technological—and 
develop the communication systems that promote community and civic 
innovation and engagement to address serious challenges like climate 
change and environmental degradation.

Inspired by the vision and framework outlined in Christopher Alexander's 
classic 1977 book, A Pattern Language, the book presents a pattern 
language containing 136 patterns designed to meet these challenges. We 
are proposing a new model of social change that integrates theory and 
practice by showing how diverse information and communication based 
approaches can be used to address local as well as global problems.

The pattern language was developed collaboratively with nearly 100 
co-authors using an online pattern language management system. The 
patterns from the book are all online as are approximately 300 other 
patterns in work. We are treating the publishing of the book as an 
important milestone rather than the culmination of the project. While we 
are very enthusiastic about what we've produced so far we realize that 
people and organizations who use the patterns will often need to adapt 
the pattern language to their specific needs which may even include 
developing new patterns. For this reason and others we are revamping our 
web site to encourage collaborative pattern language construction and 
allow people to readily share ideas and experiences with others.

Our goal was to create an intriguing and informative catalog of 
intellectual, social, and technological innovations, a practical manual 
for citizen activism, and a compelling manifesto for creating a more 
intelligent, sustainable, and equitable world.

Finally, I'd like to share these endorsements with you. I think they 
capture some of the important ideas through independent eyes.

"If we keep following the well-trodden paths that have brought us to 
where we are, we'll never get to where we want to go. Schuler and his 
colleagues believe that we can get out of these ruts, and better yet, 
they tell us how. This work goes beyond elections and demonstrations, 
beyond cynicism and business as usual. It asks the much deeper 
questions: what kind of a world do we want and what must we do to get 
there? Schuler and his colleagues show us that another world is possible 
and invite everybody to the project. I say, 'Let's get going.'"

—Jerry Greenfield, co-founder, Ben & Jerry's

"In this wide-ranging analysis of the role of information in society, 
Doug Schuler proposes a grand theory that weaves together disparate 
information and communication activities into an organized, synergistic 
fabric. He taps into the collective wisdom of citizens—both theorists 
and advocates—to develop a pattern language that can be used as a 
framework for rethinking how we build community and create a more 
humane, equitable future."

—Nancy Kranich, Former President, American Library Association, author 
of Libraries & Democracy

"It's a wonder no one has attempted this monumental project before! Doug 
Schuler and his collaborators have produced a visionary manual rich in 
insights and directly useful in any attempt to connect people and 
information technologies in the quest for real democracy. This is a 
crucial book for our time."

—Langdon Winner, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

If this sounds interesting I encourage to take a look at the book. Also, 
please don't hesitate to get in touch with me for any reason. And thanks 
in advance for sending this note to friends and colleagues!

-- Doug Schuler

Liberating Voices: A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution can 
be ordered online at:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11601

The Public Sphere Project
http://www.publicsphereproject.org/

The Liberating Voices pattern language project
http://www.publicsphereproject.org/patterns/

Online portal to the patterns in the book
http://www.publicsphereproject.org/patterns/pattern-table-of-contents.php