The role of the Knowledge Consumer

Panel Discussion

Ultimately, all of the questions posed in today’s panels come down to one thing: the people. It is the people whose trust knowledge creators must nurture, it is the people who consume the media, and whose relationship to truth and knowledge is under attack. But is there something more to be considered, here? Is it not possible that the people are in fact not merely passive consumers, but rather a living, breathing commons with something to contribute to the future of knowledge?

Perhaps we should not be asking what we can do to help the people, but what the people can do to help us, and each other. As society becomes ever more fluent in the language and methodology of content creation and the sharing of ideas, should we be considering a knowledge-based society in which top-down hierarchies are augmented with, or even replaced by, a model that welcomes the citizen-researcher as a contributor to the common store of knowledge?

Chair and speakers:

  • Chaired by Theo Blackwell, Chief Digital Officer, GLA
  • Tiffany Watt Smith, Researcher and author, Centre for the History of the Emotions (QMUL)
  • Lisa Feldman Barrett, Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University and Author
  • Mariam Khan, Social media activist
  • Amber Perrier, Community Engagement Assistant, The British Library
  • David Lammy, Member of Parliament for Tottenham

This session is being delivered by Knowledge Quarter.

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