A geopolitics of open access: Information, software and reading

Abstract

The call for open access to scientific literature has been generalized recently. From national councils for science and technology to universities to inter-government organization, the main actors in global knowledge production seem to agree that the future of knowledge circulation and use depends on open access to it. In this article, first I explore the context in which we should frame this call: the knowledge asymmetries. Then, the consequences of open access for knowledge, data, and information production and consumption are analyzed. As an answer to those consequences, new epistemic practices are described: softwarization of data processing and strategic reading.