Midterm Exam
NOTE: This IS the actual midterm exam. Due October 19 at the beginning of class.
Choose THREE questions from the following list and FOR EACH, write a 500-1000 word essay in response. Refer to readings from the course. You may also use other sources, as long as you include citations. (Citations should be given in either Modern Language Association or APA style.)
In judging your work, I will be primarily concerned with your ability to synthesize and apply ideas from the reading. Always support your assertions by reference to the text or by other external evidence. Do not simply assert your opinion. I'm also interested in your ability to construct a logical analysis as part of an argument. Try to make your writing focused and persuasive.
Unlike all the other assignments in this course, the midterm exam must be submitted on paper at the beginning of class on October 19, 2006.
Questions:
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Benkler models his ideas of knowledge production on a "decentralized, nonproprietary" ideal based on the way he understands the history of scientific work. Describe the key features of this model and discuss the aptness of the comparison between scientific discovery and the production of other types of intellectual property, such as music, video games, and other forms of entertainment.
Lawrence Lessig points out that the first English copyright law was seriously challenged by a group of booksellers. Parliament's initial intention to provide a limited protection for authors became an occasion for publishers to demand special and perpetual rights. How has this pattern recurred in American media history, and what does it tell us about the idea of copyright?
Drawing on material from both Benkler and Lessig, describe the forces arrayed against the production of a largely "free culture" (to adopt LessigŐs terminology). In what ways have these forces succeed in eliminating or at least tightly constraining a non-market system of cultural production? In what ways have these forces failed and why?
Apple Computer once (in)famously adopted the following advertising slogan: "Rip. Mix. Burn. It's your music." First, say why this slogan is problematic, paying particular attention to the meaning of those three imperative verbs. Second, what do the troubles behind this slogan reveal about the social or cultural effects of computer-network technologies?
Explain the role of transaction costs and efficiency in BenklerŐs case for the value and promise of non-market production of information, knowledge, and culture. Does this case work better in some "markets" than in others? Why?
