Social Science Research Council

New information technologies, from the printing press to the telephone to the Internet, have always been engines of cultural innovation—keys to reshaping creative possibilities, notions of self and community, cultural institutions, and the roles of cultural actors.  The impact of digital technologies and digital networks, in this regard, has been profound.

SSRC work in this area is dedicated improving understanding of the wave of cultural innovation associated with these new technologies. Since 2001, the program has fostered research on changes in the organization of culture and cultural production, from transitions to digital media, to the new structures of collabaration and cultural participation, to the growing role of intellectual property rights as a mode of cultural regulation.  Current work builds especially on the last of these questions. Major projects include an international comparative study of media piracy and anti-piracy efforts.

Funding for this program has been provided by the Knowledge, Creativity, and Freedom Program of the Ford Foundation and by the Culture and Creativity division of the Rockefeller Foundation.