Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary, scholarly and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images. But what does it mean to own ideas, music, art, or designs as property? Is it a bellwether of capitalist logic or a vital guardian of individual creation? And what do we make of current attempts to blur the lines between creation and appropriation such as musical "mash-ups" and mixed media literature in our current moment or in cultural borrowings of the past (such as the recitation of works by "Homer")? Are these instances of intellectual property or of piracy? At this moment of digital reproduction and manipulation, crowd sourcing, sharing economies, and on-line collaboration, we will investigate the concept, benefits, and/or damages of intellectual property and intellectual piracy.

All lectures begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted, and are held in the Daniel Family Commons, which is located in the Usdan University Center.

Feb 20

Artist Levellers and Digital Diggers

DAVID LOWERY • University of Georgia

Feb 27

The Invention of Copyright Piracy in Late 19^th Century America

STEVEN WILF • University of Connecticut

Mar 6

Democratic Looking

CLAIRE GRACE • Wesleyan University

Apr 3

How Do People Get News Online?

CHRISTIAAN HOGENDORN • Wesleyan University

Apr 10

Authenticity and Terror*

DAVID JOSELIT • GRADUATE CENTER CUNY

*Lecture will be at the Russell House

Apr 17

TBA

Apr 24

How the Romans Abolished Slavery in the Enlightenment

DAN EDELSTEIN • Stanford University

May 1

Many Paths to the Great Spirit: Recontextualizing the New Age Appropriation of Indigenous Shamanism

JUSTINE QUIJADA • Wesleyan University

May 8

The Aesthetics of the "Common": A Challenge to the Notion of Intellectual Property?

CHRISTINE ROSS • McGill