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Paul Schmelzer

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"The Anarchist in the Library: Discussing Cultural Democracy with Siva Vaidhyanathan"

Siva Vaidhyanathan, copyright scholar, interviewed by Paul Schmelzer
Siva Vaidhyanathan, copyright scholar, interviewed by Paul Schmelzer

"The Anarchist in the Library: Discussing Cultural Democracy with Siva Vaidhyanathan" | Media List


Statement

I interviewed NYU communications professor and copyright/digital-age scholar Siva Vaidhyanathan in April 2003 on everything from the Patriot Act to digital copyright, "anarchistic" technology to threats to America's library tradition. This interview was published in the radical library journal CounterPoise and excerpted in Adbusters. His works include "Copyrights and Copywrongs" and "The Anarchist in the Library." A sample:

PS: The title of your forthcoming book is The Anarchist in the Library. I like where you're talking about the anarchy of cassette tape culture--leaderless, vibrant, creative networks. Tell me about that: where do you find hope in the face of this corporate onslaught?

SV: When I look at how cultures build themselves and proliferate, they pretty much do what anarchists have been describing as the ideal political state. I'm not willing to go far enough to say this I think this is the ideal political state, but I do think the anarchists are onto something descriptively, if not prescriptively. Culture is anarchistic. Culture builds itself without leaders. Culture proliferates itself through consensus and revision. Culture works best when there is minimal authority and guidance.

Interview: http://eyeteeth.blogspot.com/2003_04_20_eyeteeth_archive.html#92977561

Subject's page: http://homepages.nyu.edu/~sv24/