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Critique and Philology

Ahmed El Shamsy

in Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition

This chapter shows how European hegemony and aggressive Westernization in the former Ottoman Empire formed the backdrop for the next stage in the evolution of Arabic print culture: fierce debates ... More

This chapter shows how European hegemony and aggressive Westernization in the former Ottoman Empire formed the backdrop for the next stage in the evolution of Arabic print culture: fierce debates over philology and the critical method. What was at stake was how to critically read the Arabo-Islamic heritage that was becoming accessible at an accelerating pace through the printing press—how to assess the authenticity of writings attributed to particular periods and authors and how to draw on these materials judiciously in order to reconstruct the historical and literary past. The site of these debates was the growing corpus of printed classical works. Even the opponents of the editing and publishing vanguard could no longer ignore the influence of this literature, and accordingly the divergent arguments were phrased overwhelmingly in the idiom of philology. The ensuing philological advancements were brought to bear not only on the juxtaposition of Orientalist and indigenous philology but also on substantial religious issues of the time, including grave visitation, theological tenets, and legal debates.Less

Orphan Works

Maurizio Borghi and Stavroula Karapapa

in Copyright and Mass Digitization

Orphan and out-of-print works, which embody a significant part of our cultural heritage, are a significant impediment towards the formation of digital libraries and mass digital archives. In its ... More

Orphan and out-of-print works, which embody a significant part of our cultural heritage, are a significant impediment towards the formation of digital libraries and mass digital archives. In its limited capacity, the EU Directive on orphan works does not provide an undisputed solution as it does not cover commercial uses of orphan works, and is hence not suitable in the context of mass digitization. The US has not enacted legislation in this regard, but there have been a number of private ordering mechanisms, such as in the context of Google Books and the HathiTrust Orphan Work Project. The question however remains: does the fact that a digital library includes orphan and out-of-print works signal the creation of entitlements over the entire corpus?Less

Locating John Toland

Justin Champion

in Republican Learning: John Toland and the Crisis of Christian Culture, 1696-1722

This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this book, which is about the republican political thought of free-thinker John Toland. The first part deals with what we might call the material and ... More

This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this book, which is about the republican political thought of free-thinker John Toland. The first part deals with what we might call the material and social infrastructure for Toland's ‘life of the mind’. The second part of the book explores the dimensions of Toland's political arguments and examines how he used printed work to communicate with a public audience in an attempt to convince them of the best strategy for compromising the tyranny of clerical politics.Less

A Modern Printing Establishment

in Steam-Powered Knowledge: William Chambers and the Business of Publishing, 1820-1860

This chapter discusses W. & R. Chambers' printing and binding establishment. The Chambers became the owners of one of the largest and most technologically advanced printing works in Edinburgh. They ... More

This chapter discusses W. & R. Chambers' printing and binding establishment. The Chambers became the owners of one of the largest and most technologically advanced printing works in Edinburgh. They were able to print the entire run of the Chambers's Journal in Edinburgh, and the London edition was discontinued. The Information for the People, the People's Editions, and the Educational Course were launched by the Chambers in the mid-1830s. As the manufacturing side of the business expanded, so did the editorial department. The Chambers' establishment had developed a widespread reputation for its size, its high level of mechanization, and its organization. It was the extensive, complete, and modern establishment that allowed the Chambers to survive the increased competition in the field of cheap literature and to centralize their British operations in Edinburgh.Less

Rosana Paulino

Kimberly L. Cleveland

in Black Art in Brazil: Expressions of Identity

Rosana Paulino is a university-trained artist from São Paulo. The chapter begins with an examination of some of her installations, prints, and sculptures in which she engages the urban environment ... More

Rosana Paulino is a university-trained artist from São Paulo. The chapter begins with an examination of some of her installations, prints, and sculptures in which she engages the urban environment with a strong focus on the black female experience. She uses materials and techniques that are associated with popular Brazilian art and creates personal narratives, which link her work to other contemporary national artistic productions. The chapter reveals that Paulino does not identify with the term Afro-Brazilian art, even though she has participated in most of the large-scale exhibitions. Through her artistic explorations of gender-related visual signifiers of blackness, such as hair, the female nude, and the image of the wet nurse, Paulino’s works expose the weight these ubiquitous and seemingly innocuous markers carry when represented to Brazilian society in a different setting.Less

Ronaldo Rego

Kimberly L. Cleveland

in Black Art in Brazil: Expressions of Identity

Ronaldo Rego is a multimedia artist from Rio de Janeiro. As a priest in the African-influenced religion of Umbanda, Rego chooses to base his art almost exclusively on themes from this faith. The ... More

Ronaldo Rego is a multimedia artist from Rio de Janeiro. As a priest in the African-influenced religion of Umbanda, Rego chooses to base his art almost exclusively on themes from this faith. The chapter begins with an examination of some of the prints and sculptures he has produced for secular audiences. The chapter then explores how Rego identifies with Brazil’s black population, both ethnically and artistically, due to his choice of subject matter and position within the African religious universe. Rego focuses on a collective past and identity, which is common to modern black artistic production. Because Brazilian scholars do not apply the same racially-based line to Afro-Brazilian art as American academics, several curators have included Rego, a white artist, in their national and international exhibitions. This chapter reveals the complex relationship between religious expression and artistic liberty in conveying blackness.Less

Public Policy Privileges

Stavroula Karapapa

in Defences to Copyright Infringement: Creativity, Innovation and Freedom on the Internet

A substantial body of copyright infringement defences is primarily available to institutional users, such as educational establishments, libraries, and archives. In light of the advent of the ... More

A substantial body of copyright infringement defences is primarily available to institutional users, such as educational establishments, libraries, and archives. In light of the advent of the Internet and mass digitization, the availability of defences has been enlarged through a set of legislative instruments, such as the Orphan Works Directive and the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. Public policy privileges are meant to make allowances for modern methods of teaching provision, such as online courses, distance learning, and cross-border education programmes, as well as exempt from infringement new methods of carrying out research, such as text mining and data analytics, and enable value extraction from the plethora of works that are currently out of print. Although the policy reason behind the expansion of available defences has been the promotion of growth in the educational and cultural sector, there is a strong public interest underpinning the very presence of these exceptions in the statute. This has to do with the promotion of a rigorous public domain, whereby certain works shall be made more accessible for users to use and re-use. Subject to examination in this chapter is the breadth of these permissible activities and their ability to accommodate modern online services, including also the defences available for uses made by public administration.Less