On 9/6/02 8:53 AM, "jeremy hunsinger" <jhuns@vt.edu> wrote:
I used lessig's The Future of Ideas this summer, it is very accessible, and provides a good perspective. It was only a 1 week unit. I think the topic needs more coverage. I may teach an extended course next summer adding Copyrights/Copywrongs , which gives a satisfactory history and then gives a good account of the current day/possible future . . .
I strongly second Jeremy's recommendation of Lessig's "Future of Ideas" which deserves high praise both for accessibility and comprehensiveness. I think Jeremy is also recommending Siva Vaidhyanathan's "Copyrights and Copywrongs" which is not as comprehensive in its scope but offers fascinating chapters on, for example, Mark Twain and his relationship to the history of copyright, in addition to chapters with more current focus points, especially the music/movie industry battles. It is NOT expressly oriented toward the Net, though, as one might expect, the Net comes up a lot. Herrington's book ("Controlling Voices: Intellectual Property, Humanistic Studies, and the Internet") draws upon her background in law (she has a J.D.) and her current work in the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture at Georgia Tech. Given your (Ed's) orientation toward communication studies and rhetorical theory, it might well prove irresistible. Best, John Logie University of Minnesota