Copyfightin' humanities prof Siva Vaidhyanathan has just published a paper in which defines a new discipline that encompasses the copyfight. "Critical Information Studies" is Siva's name for the interdisciplinary field that the copyfight crowd are creating, a field with some comp sci, some law, some philosophy, some economics, some poli sci, some public diplomacy, some critical theory, and so on. Siva proposes that "Critical Information Studies" will cover:
* the abilities and liberties to use, revise, criticize, and manipulate cultural texts, images, ideas, and information;
* the rights and abilities of users (or consumers or citizens) to alter the means and techniques through which cultural texts and information are rendered, displayed, and distributed;
* the relationship among information control, property rights, technologies, and social norms; and
* the cultural, political, social, and economic ramifications of global flows of culture and information.
(Thanks, Siva!)
