Community and Knowledge

BFFs

CommunityA group of people who share a commonality… a lived experience, a thought, a group of knowledge

Old definition vs newCommunities used to be tied to location primarily, with thought coming as a second. Older thought communities: religious affiliation, universities, political parties

InformationEvery community relies on information. But information doesn’t make a community. Information is widely known, and vastly interpretable.

How a community uses information is “knowledge”

From studies, to census. Even text and lived experience is knowledge

ExampleFrom a traditional community…..Christianity

Information: Primarily, The Bible (New and Old Testament)

Denominations: Community

Knowledge

• Each denomination has it’s own interpretation of the same text

• Each denominationbuilds it’s own knowledge through lived interpretation

• Community cohesion assured through common basis of interpretation of information

• Information lived and synthesised into knowledge

Knowledge impossible without community

As we build communities, we need keepers of knowledge

Scribes to record information

Libraries, databases to store information

Elders, leaders to propagate knowledge

An entire community building more according to its circumstance

Without living through this…

You couldn’t fully understand this installation called “Blizzard”

Just like my grandmother can tell me that this wasn’t romantic… just cold. And I can understand even though we now pay for the experience. Our knowledge has changed dues to our lived experience.

Community and Knowledge

• Who is your community?• Communities have exclusions and inclusions,

what are yours?• How does your knowledge come about?• How is it stored?• How is it shared?