One way of thinking about obsolescence is as a condition, a final state in which some thing, most often technological, is on the precipice of disappearing—if not already long gone. A related and more productive way of thinking about obsolescence is not as a state or condition, but rather as a process.

I’ve had two quite different occasions this summer to think about collaboration in the Humanities. The first: a course I taught on blogging in July, which explored how writing, as a first-person and personal craft, is (and is not) changing in the era of social media and digital communities.

Imagine that you’ve recently become a big fan of salsa or Cuban son.  You decide you want to learn more about how the music works—maybe even take a few conga lessons yourself.

The evidence of material on African cities does not inspire confidence.  They are increasingly overcrowded with no clear plan for matching population growth to available facilities.  Sewage and garbage disposal are perennial problems. The hope some five decades ago when many countries gained freedom from their former colonial masters was that the cities would act as engines of growth.