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Archive: February 2016 (2 Posts)

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Anniversary of the Radio Act of 1927, The Beginning of Broadcast Regulation

Posted by: Jennifer Davis

As new technologies emerge, the federal government works to ratchet up its regulations. If the technology is sufficiently pervasive, the government creates regulatory arms for it. Radio is one of the earlier examples of this cycle of technological innovation and its regulation. Before 1927, the Commerce Department regulated radio, but the department’s control over the …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

James Joyce, Ulysses and the Meaning of Obscenity

Posted by: Jennifer Davis

Most fans of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses celebrate the day of the novel’s action, June 16, also known as Bloomsday. I knew a Joyce specialist who used to honor the day by eating a gorgonzola sandwich on white bread with a glass of burgundy—he said he couldn’t face the grilled mutton kidneys. Fans of the …