Sample! Remix! Mash!

'''Sample! Remix! Mash!''' is a Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies class taught by Susana Loza.

Course Description
This seminar delves into the dynamics, debates, and desires that drive pop fandom. In this class, we ask: What is fan culture? Does it build community? Are fans different from other consumers? What are the ethics and politics of fandom? What are the aesthetic, social, and legal ramifications of fan-produced forms such as mash-ups, remixes, youtube videos, and fanfic/slash that borrow, customize, and reinterpret pop commodities? How do such textual appropriations call into question the boundaries between high and low, production and consumption, intellectual property and fair use? Do fan-produced forms challenge or reinforce Romantic notions of authorship and authenticity? Particular attention will be paid to: the queering of heterosexist pop texts; the racialized and sexualized construction of masculinity and femininity; the politics of sampling, remixing, and mashing; and the role of the Internet, blogs, and social networking technologies in fan culture. This course is reading-, writing-, and theory-intensive.

REQUIRED TEXTS:


 * Rosemary Coombe, The Cultural Life of Intellectual Properties: Authorship, Appropriation, and the Law (available for purchase at the Hampshire Bookstore)
 * All other readings are available via the HACU-0168 course website.

REQUIRED ACTIVITIES TO RECEIVE AN EVALUATION:


 * 1) Complete assigned readings in advance of each class meeting. Please bring readings to class.
 * 2) Regular attendance and active participation in class discussions.
 * 3) Class presentation on one of the assigned readings.
 * 4) Regularly review course website for announcements, assignments, and additional readings.
 * 5) Complete and submit all written work in a timely manner, which include the following:


 * 6 Blog Posts (Due on 2/5, 2/17, 2/26, 3/12, 3/31, and 4/23)
 * Paper Proposal (Due 2/24)
 * Annotated Bibliography (Due 3/10)
 * Detailed Outline (Due 3/26)
 * Rough Draft (Due 4/9)
 * 10-12 Page Final Research Paper (Due 4/21)

6. Deliver brief presentation on research paper topic in class on 4/28 OR 4/30.

7. Submit a portfolio consisting of all your written work at the end of the semester (Due 4/28).

8. Submit a Mid-Term Self-Evaluation (Due 3/4) AND a Self-Evaluation to The Hub (Due 5/1).

Class Attendance: Because attendance is critical to the success of this seminar, only two (2) absences are allowed (subsequent absences will result in a "no evaluation" or failing grade). Please keep in mind that when you skip class, you miss information crucial to understanding the readings, a sense of which themes are important, and the presentations of your classmates. Class Discussions: This course follows a seminar format, and as such, you are required to arrive promptly to class and actively participate in all class discussions. You are expected to fully engage with the assigned readings and offer informed perspectives in class. We all benefit when we all read, question and listen. In the process, students are expected to be respectful of and open to others’ opinions and suggestions and to avoid monopolizing class discussions. The goal is to facilitate rather than close down critical debate of the subject material. For those whom grades will not be assigned, the degree and quality of participation will be noted in your final narrative evaluations. Class Presentation: Students will be required to give an in-class presentation of approximately 20 minutes on one of the assigned readings. Students are expected to summarize the main points of the reading, explain key concepts, AND lead class discussion. While the use of media examples is not required, it is strongly recommended. Students should consult with the Professor before the presentation to discuss its general content. Blog Posts: Students will be required to submit SIX posts to the class blog. Posts should be brief (500 words or more) and should be typed, proofread, spell checked and the word count confirmed before you post anything on the blog. Your posts should reflect sophisticated consideration of the readings and issues we have discussed in class. Posts should not summarize our class discussions but rather move beyond them in a significant way. Posts should engage with theoretical concepts from the readings and apply them to popular culture and/or fandom. Although not required, students are strongly encouraged to comment on the posts of their fellow students via the class blog. Research Paper: A research paper is required for this course. Students will be evaluated based upon the successful completion of the following assignments: paper proposal, annotated bibliography, detailed outline, rough draft, and final draft. Final drafts are due April 21st at 10:30 am and MUST be submitted directly to the Professor, unless other arrangements have been made beforehand. Late papers will be excused only in the case of a documented illness or family emergency. Papers should be 10-12 double-spaced pages in length (one-inch margins and 12 pt. font) and printed double-sided (NO EMAILED PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED). The paper title, author’s name and email address, and date should appear at the top of the first page. Do not include a separate cover page. Please staple papers; do not submit papers with clips, binders, or report covers. Please number all pages. Papers must include a bibliography and proper citations, with a minimum of 10 scholarly references cited including at least three academic journal publications. While Wikipedia and similar sources might be used for background information, it is expected that students will find more authoritative sources for information and cite these sources rather than citing Wikipedia. The Chicago reference style should be used for the bibliography and citations (students may use an alternative style only with permission of the Professor). Papers should be well structured with appropriate headings throughout, and include conclusions that are well supported by the rest of the paper. Remember this is a research paper, not an opinion essay. All assertions need to be supported with citations to relevant literature. You should cite ideas, not just direct quotes. Headings should be used to structure the paper. Purchasing a hard copy, CD, or online subscription of the Chicago Manual of Style is highly recommended. Brief Presentation on Research Paper Topic: Students should come to the last week of class (4/28 and 4/30) prepared to briefly discuss their research paper. Each student will have up to 5 MINUTES to present. If they choose, students can use this time to play a short clip to illustrate their project.

RULES AND REGULATIONS — PLEASE READ VERY CAREFULLY! Class Decorum: Turn off your cell phone, blackberry, iPhone, or other electronic device, before class begins. Please note: In-Class laptop computer usage is permitted but should be limited to course-related activities and not casual web surfing for personal enjoyment. Tardiness Policy: Students are expected to be in class on time. Attendance will be taken promptly at 10:30 am. If you are late, you will be assigned extra work. 1-5 minutes late will add 100 words to your next blog post assignment (i.e., you will be required to write 600 words instead of 500). 5-10 minutes late will add 200 words (700 words instead of 500). If you are more than ten minutes late, you will be marked absent for the day. Please note: Excessive tardiness will be noted in your final narrative evaluation. Late Assignments: No late work! No exceptions! All assignments are due on the date, time, and location specified in the syllabus. It is your responsibility to keep track of when and where assignments are due. Please plan ahead as accidents do occur (computers crash, printers run out of toner, networks go down, illnesses descend, hangovers happen, breakups take their toll, etc.). If you have a physical, psychological, medical, or learning disability that may impact on your ability to carry out assigned course work on time, I urge you to contact the Disabilities Services Coordinator, Joel Dansky. He is responsible for the coordination and provision of services and accommodations for students with disabilities. He may be reached at 413-559-5423 or via email jdansky@hampshire.edu. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a very serious offense and will not be tolerated. If a student is found guilty of plagiarism he or she will not receive an evaluation for this class, and the case will be handed over to the Dean for disciplinary action. If you use the words or ideas of others you must clearly identify the source in your work (that includes any information found on the web!). Direct quotations must be placed in quotation marks and their sources cited. Paraphrased sources should also be acknowledged. If you are unclear what constitutes plagiarism, consult the Professor before handing your work in. Ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism is not a defense. It is your responsibility to be sure beforehand. READING SCHEDULE AND COURSE ASSIGNMENTS: January 29: Introduction  February 3: ''The Author is Dead! Long Live the Author!''


 * Rosemary Coombe, "Introduction: Authoring Culture"
 * Michel Foucault, "What is An Author?"
 * Roland Barthes, "The Death of the Author"

ASSIGNMENT : Students must identify FOUR class readings they would like to present on. We will hold a lottery during class on February 5th to determine the sequence of student presentations. Each student will only have to present on ONE reading. To make sure that student presenters have sufficient time, only TWO presentations will be scheduled per class. February 5: Beyond the Romantic Author


 * Rosemary Coombe, "The Properties of Culture and The Politics of Possessing Identity"
 * Anupam Chander and Madhavi Sunder, "The Romance of the Public Domain"
 * Jason Toynbee, "Beyond Romance and Repression: Social Authorship in a Capitalist Age"

ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM. February 10: Fandom Between Consumerism and Resistance


 * Matt Hills, "Fan Cultures Between Consumerism and 'Resistance'"
 * Christine Scodari, "Resistance Re-Examined: Gender, Fan Practices, and Science Fiction Television"
 * Elana Shefrin, "Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Participatory Fandom: Mapping New Congruencies between the Internet and Media Entertainment Culture"
 * Sheenagh Pugh, "The Democratic Genre: Fan Fiction in a Literary Context" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Dale Hudson, "Between Consumerism and Resistance, Outreach and Exclusion: Online Vampire Subcultures" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

February 12: Fan Fiction, Fandom, and Fanfare: What's All the Fuss?


 * Jonathan Gray, Cornel Sandvoss, and C. Lee Harrington, "Introduction - Why Study Fans" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Matt Hills, "Fan Cultures Between Community and Hierarchy"
 * Meredith McCardle, "Fan Fiction, Fandom, and Fanfare: What's All the Fuss?"
 * Derek Johnson, "Fan-tagonism: Factions, Institutions, and Constitutive Hegemonies of Fandom"
 * Ed Wiltse, "Fans, Geeks and Nerds, and the Politics of Online Communities" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

 February 17: Queering the Text: Slash, Desire, and Fan-tasy – Part I


 * Anne Krustritz, "Slashing the Romance Narrative"
 * Mirna Cicioni, "Male-Pair Bonds and Female Desire in Fan Slash Writing"
 * Eden Lackner, Barbara Lynn Lucas, and Robin Anne Reid, "Cunning Linguists: The Bisexual Erotics of Words/Silence/Flesh"
 * Jeanne Hamming, "Whatever Turns You On: Becoming-Lesbian and the Production of Desire in the Xenaverse"
 * Rachel Shave, "Slash Fandom on the Internet, Or, Is the Carnival Over?" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM. February 19: Queering the Text: Slash, Desire, and Fan-tasy – Part II


 * Daniel Allington, "'How Come Most People Don’t See It?': Slashing The Lord of the Rings"
 * Catherine Tosenberger, "Homosexuality at the Online Hogwarts: Harry Potter Slash Fanfiction"
 * Shoshanna Green, Cynthia Jenkins, and Henry Jenkins, "'Normal Female Interest in Men Bonking': Selections from the Terra Nostra Underground and Strange Bedfellows"
 * Rebecca Beirne, "Queering the Slayer-Text: Reading Possibilities in Buffy the Vampire Slayer" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

February 24: Everyone's An Author: Fanfic and Subcultural Creativity


 * Anupam Chander and Madhavi Sunder, "Everyone's A Super-Hero: A Cultural Theory of 'Mary Sue' Fan Fiction as Fair Use"
 * Christina Z. Ranon, "Honor Among Thieves: Copyright Infringement in Internet Fandom"
 * Rebecca Tushnet, "Payment in Credit: Copyright Law and Subcultural Creativity"

ASSIGNMENT : Submit Research Paper Proposal. Proposals should be 1 page in length and typed (double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12 pt. font). Don't forget to check spelling and grammar! See course website for helpful tips! February 26: Everyone's A Star: Performativity, Persona, and Postmodern Subjectivity


 * Rosemary Coombe, "Author(iz)ing Celebrity: Engendering Alternative Identities" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Matt Hills, "Not Just Another Powerless Elite? When Media Fans Become Subcultural Celebrities" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Kristin Busse, "'I'm Jealous of the Fake Me': Postmodern Subjectivity and Identity Construction in Boy Band Fiction" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Paul Booth, "Rereading Fandom: MySpace Character Personas and Narrative Identification" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM.  March 3: Good Copy, Bad Copy: Covers, Copyright, and Collaboration


 * George Plasketes, "Re-flections on the Cover Age: A Collage of Continuous Coverage in Popular Music"
 * Steve Bailey, "Faithful or Foolish: The Emergence of the 'Ironic Cover Album' and Rock Culture"
 * David Sanjek, "Ridiculing the Whitebread Original: The Politics of Parody and Preservation"
 * Grethe Mitchell and Andrew Clarke, "Videogame Music: Chip Tunes Byte Back?" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Karen Collins, "Cover Songs in 8-Bit Video Games" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Steve Collins, "Good Copy, Bad Copy: Covers, Sampling and Copyright" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

March 4: Mid-Term Evaluations Due  March 5: The Politics of Duplication


 * Joanna Demers, "Duplication"
 * Rebecca Tushnet, "Copy This Essay: How Fair Use Doctrine Harms Free Speech and How Copying Serves It"

March 10: Counterfeit Semiotics and The Pirate Function


 * Stéphane Leman-Langlois, "Theft in the Information Age: Music, Technology, Crime, and Claims-Making"
 * Laikwan Pang, "'China Who Makes and Fakes': A Semiotics of the Counterfeit"
 * Anna Notaro, "Technology in Search of an Artist: Questions of Auteurism/Authorship and the Contemporary Cinematic Experience"
 * Kavita Philip, "What is A Technological Author? The Pirate Function and Intellectual Property"

ASSIGNMENT : Turn in Annotated Bibliography for Research Paper. Annotated bibliographies must include a minimum of 6 scholarly references and include at least 2 academic journal publications. None of the sources may be from the class reading list. While Wikipedia and similar sources might be used for background information, it is expected that students will find more authoritative sources for information and cite these sources rather than citing Wikipedia. The Chicago reference style should be used for the bibliography and citations. See course website for helpful tips! As always, don’t forget to check spelling and grammar! March 12: Techno, Copyright, and Other Digital Fallacies


 * John Connell and Chris Gibson, "Terra Digitalia: Music, Copyright, and Territory in the Information Age"
 * Richard Grusin, "What is an Electronic Author? Theory and Technological Fallacy"
 * Bill Herman, "Scratching Out Authorship: Representations of the Electronic Music DJ at the Turn of the 21st Century"
 * Mark A. McCutcheon, "Techno, Frankenstein and Copyright"
 * Steve Collins, "'Property Talk’ and the Revival of Blackstonian Copyright" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM. March 17: No Class – Spring Break  March 19: No Class – Spring Break   March 24: Gone Digital: Cultural Appropriation, Indigenous Rights, and the Color of Copyright


 * Rosemary Coombe, "Objects of Property and Subjects of Politics" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Kimberly Christen, "Gone Digital: Aboriginal Remix and the Cultural Commons"
 * Margaret McDonnell, "The Color of Copyright" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

March 26: (Un)Fair Use and Cultural Inequality


 * Rosemary Coombe, "Embodied Trademarks: Mimesis and Alterity on American Commercial Frontiers" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * David Hesmondhalgh, "Digital Sampling and Cultural Inequality"
 * Timothy Taylor, "A Riddle Wrapped in A Mystery: Transnational Music Sampling and Enigma's 'Return to Innocence'"

ASSIGNMENT : Detailed outline of research paper due. Outlines should be 2-3 pages long. See course website for helpful tips! As always, don’t forget to check spelling and grammar! March 31: Hip Hop, Sampling, and The Shadow of The Law


 * Joanna Demers, "The Shadow of the Law"
 * Thomas G. Schumacher, "'This is a Sampling Sport': Digital Sampling, Rap Music and The Law in Cultural Production"
 * Nitasha Sharma, "Down By Law: Responses and Effects of Sampling Restrictions on Rap"

ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM. April 2: No Class – Advising Day   April 7: Remixing Creativity, Sampling Authenticity: Hip Hop and Intertextuality


 * Keith Aoki, "Adrift in the Intertext: Authorship and Audience 'Recoding Rights'"
 * Wayne Marshall, "Giving Up Hip-hop’s Firstborn: A Quest for the Real after the Death of Sampling"
 * Sunaina Maira, "Desis Reprazent: Bhangra Remix and Hip Hop In New York City"
 * Sampsung Xiaoxiang Shi, "The Place of Creativity in Copyright Law"

April 9: The Ethics of Hacking


 * Kirsty Best, "Visceral Hacking or Packet Wanking? The Ethics of Digital Code"
 * Sarah Coleman and Nick Dyer-Witheford, "Playing on the Digital Commons: Collectivities, Capital and Contestation in Videogame Culture"
 * Griffin Mead Woodworth, "Hackers, Users, and Suits: Napster and Representations of Identity"
 * Rosemary Coombe and Andrew Herman, "Rhetorical Virtues: Property, Speech, and the Commons on the World-Wide Web"

ASSIGNMENT : Rough Draft of Research Paper Due (See the Course Website for Tips) April 14: Shades of Grey: Danger Mouse, Copyright, and the Politics of Textual (Re)Appropriation


 * Nicholas Lewis, "Shades of Grey: Can The Copyright Fair Use Defense Adapt To New Re-Contextualized Forms of Music and Art?"
 * Davis Schneiderman, "Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Lawsuit: DJ Danger Mouse, William S. Burroughs, and the Politics of 'Grey Tuesday'"
 * Aaron Power, "The Mouse That Roared: Addressing the Postmodern Quandary of Mash-Ups Through Traditional Fair Use Analysis" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Philip Gunderson, "Danger Mouse's Grey Album, Mash-Ups, and The Age of Composition" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Carlos Ruiz de la Torre, "Digital Music Sampling &amp; Copyright Law: Can The Interests of Copyright Owners and Sampling Artists Be Reconciled?" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Steve Collins, "Recovering Fair Use" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Em McAvan, "'Boulevard of Broken Songs': Mash-ups as Textual Re-appropriation of Popular Music Culture" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

April 16: Mashing and Stealing: The Logic of Remix Culture


 * David Gunkel, "Rethinking the Digital Remix: Mashups and the Metaphysics of Sound Recording"
 * David Metzer, "Sampling and Thievery"
 * Michael Serazio, "The Apolitical Irony of Generation Mash-Up: A Cultural Case Study of Popular Music"
 * John Shiga, "Copy-and-Persist: The Logic of Mash-Up Culture"
 * Steve Collins, "Amen to That: Sampling and Adapting the Past" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

April 21: Tactics of Capitalist Resistance: Culture Jamming, Media Pranking, and Corporate Rumor-Mongering


 * Rosemary Coombe, "Tactics of Appropriation and the Politics of Recognition" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Joshua Atkinson, "Thumbing Their Noses at 'The Man': An Analysis of Resistance Narratives about Multinationals"
 * Christine Harold, "Pranking Rhetoric: “Culture Jamming” as Media Activism"

ASSIGNMENT : Final Draft of Research Paper Due (Questions? Download the Paper FAQ) April 23: Dialogic Democracy: Authorship, Alterity, and Articulation


 * Rosemary Coombe, "Dialogic Democracy I: Authorship and Alterity in Public Spheres" [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]
 * Rosemary Coombe, "Dialogic Democracy II: Alterity and Articulation in the Space of the Political " [Not Eligible for Class Presentation]

ASSIGNMENT : Blog Post Due by 11PM. April 27: Email A Media Example/Sample Related to your Research Paper to the Professor by 11PM


 * Students should come to the last week of class (4/28 and 4/30) prepared to BRIEFLY discuss their research paper. Each student will have up to 5 MINUTES.  If they choose, students can use (part of) this time to play a short clip to illustrate their project.

April 28: Presentation and Discussion of Research Paper Topics   ASSIGNMENT : Portfolios Due in Class. Portfolios should include hard copies of the following: blog posts, paper proposal, annotated bibliography, detailed outline, and rough draft.  April 30: Presentation and Discussion of Research Paper Topics Continued  May 1: Self-Evaluation Due

Learning Goals

 * Multi-Cultural
 * Presenting
 * Reading
 * Writing