Thesis advisor: Judith Schwartz / Increased access to media and production tools has given the civilized masses the means not only to consume an increasingly comprehensive wealth of content, but also the means to interact with that content in ways never before imagined. This has allowed the digital generation to grow ever more comfortable creating and editing content outside of the professional environment. Much of the creative output of our day comes in the form of the “remix,” a piece of content which is constructed, in full or in part, from bits (most often in the form of bytes) of other media artifacts. However, because of American law and international copyright agreements that prohibit the copying (reproduction or derivation) of creative works, a generation of amateur producers has been criminalized. Despite the message sent by recent prosecutions in light of the letter of copyright law, the original spirit of copyright law was to encourage creative production, not restrict it. Within the music industry, the international electronic dance music community demonstrates how new forms of content and copyright management within a hybrid economy could benefit artists, fans, and industry alike. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Communication.

Indigenous people in the global periphery are positioned in the crosshairs of neoliberal globalism that not only conspires to liberalize their national markets but also coerce their full integration into the global capitalist economy. This was the case in the Calca Province of Peru, where 1960s Green Revolution reform sought to integrate Quechua agrarian communities into the global economy. Neoliberal reform impoverished Quechua communities through increasing production costs and decreasing the retail prices of produce. As a protectionist reaction, Quechua women cultivated a network of barter markets to combat food insecurity. Using anthropologist Jon Altman’s (2011) theory of Hybrid Economy as a framework of analysis, this thesis evaluates economic activity in the Calca Province with qualitative, quantitative, and ethnographic evidence from two recently published case studies. This thesis argues that the hybrid economy in the Calca Province is one of dual market access, as Quechua people navigate through a non-monetized customary economy and a monetized economy. The hybrid economy expands market access and promotes the continuance of customary exchange. These findings contribute to our understanding of alternative economic development and valorize the customary economy as an autonomous institution that absorbs the blows of the global market and is not to be confused as transitional to capitalism.