Sein und IPod

Philosophy for the ear-bud generation!

CFP: The iPod and Philosophy
The iPod has become an international cultural phenomenon. We enjoy iPods for a number of reasons, from the easily navigated soundtrack to our days to the clean, elegant design, and strangely pleasing tactile interface. But there seems to be special public devotion to the iPod above its competitors.
We invite abstracts of proposed contributions to this upcoming volume in Open Court's Popular Culture and Philosophy Series to examine the iPod phenomenon from philosophical and related points of view. Topics may include:
* Phenomenology of being-in-the-world-iPodded
* Personal Identity and the Music Library
* Fair Use and Digital Rights Management
* The ethics of filesharing
* Podcasting and artist-public relations
* Randomness and the meaning of the shuffle feature
* Class-distinction and Self-expression
* Is the iPod really "The Perfect Thing" (Levy, 2006)
* Apple and Orwell: marketing or metaphysics?
* Are iPod or Apple devotees a cult?
* Per-song vs. Per-album modes of aesthetic engagement
* What is the public sphere, exactly, and are we losing it?
* The meaning and role of the "cool" as exemplified by the iPod
* Marketing of "lifestyle" and the Culture Industry
Philosophical perspectives may be Analytic, Continental, Pragmatic, or Non-Western. Areas which we expect will be of particular interest include Philosophy of Technology, Critical Theory, Phenomenology, Aesthetics, and Social/Political, but we strongly encourage you to be creative, and welcome submissions from less obvious areas.
Submissions may address the iPod by way of philosophy, or philosophy by way of the iPod (or both).
The Popular Culture and Philosophy series engages with an intellectually curious general public. Papers will be written for a non-academic audience, and will be around 12 to 20 pages total.
Please send a 300-400 word abstract and CV to d.e.wittkower@gmail.com before June 22nd, 2007.