|
Abstract:
|
"Since time immemorial, humans have given vent to their creativity in the arts and these have stood the test of time. Unfortunately, the opening up of global corridors has done more harm by erasing the native arts, leading to the slow death of scores of arts around the world. The death of the last surviving speaker of the Bo language of India’s Andaman Islands is testimony to this fact, since this language did not have a written record. The birth of open source forums like Creative Commons, however, offers a glimmer of hope. By using the licenses offered by such forums, several disciplines of study like anthropology, linguistics, history, psychology, music and the arts, stand to gain. This paper seeks to study from two different perspectives – one, how different forms of traditional art forms are being threatened in the name of intellectual freedom an copyright law around the world; two, how open source forums can be used to preserve and promote traditional cultural expressions. More specifically, this paper will explore what kind of frameworks – in terms of accountability and legality - need to be adopted to archive cultural heritage in the public digital domain. This paper also seeks to address how open source forums can provide due recognition to these people and help in restoring dignity to their art forms and sustain the travails of the future."
|