Dann Downes
Dann Downes is Professor of Information and Communication Studies at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. He received his BA from the University of Ottawa, MA from Carleton and PhD from McGill University in Communication. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the Faculty of Law at McGill and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He teaches courses in media theory, popular music, intellectual property and media ecology.
Dr. Downes has published articles on copyright and transproperty, the new media economy and the role of media in the construction of community and personal identity. His research interests include D.I.Y. culture and handmade electronic musical technology and the role of intellectual property in the regulation of cultural industries and popular culture.
As a musician, Dann has performed for over twenty-five years. He plays roots music and surf guitar. His latest recording, The Morticia Project was released in 2017. It was not featured in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Selected publications
“How Does Media Transform Society?”, in Myra J. Hird and George Pavlich (eds.) Questioning Sociology 3ed. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2017, pp. 115 – 131. ISBN 978-0-19-902010-2.
“Transproperty. Intellectual Property and the Ideal Property Form”. Digital Studies. 2016. ISSN: 1918-3666.
“Post-mortem Elvis: From Cultural Icon to Transproperty” with J. Madeley, in Catherine Strong and Barbara Lebrun (eds.) Death and the Rock Star. Surrey: Ashgate, 2015, pp. 149- 161. ISBN: 978-1-4724-3091-5.
“Branding Culture: Fictional Characters and Undead Celebrities in an age of “Transpropertied” Media”. In Courtney Doagoo, Mistrale Goudreau, Madelaine Seginur and Teresa Scassa (eds.) Intellectual Property for the 21st Century. Interdisciplinary Approaches. Toronto: Irwin Law, 2014, pp. 246- 267.
“Sympathy for the Circus. The Rolling Stones, Documentary Film and the Construction of Authenticity,” with J. Madeley, in Helmut Staubmann (ed.) The Rolling Stones – Sociological Perspectives. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013, pp. 81 -106. ISBN: 978-0-7391-7673-3.
"What's new about the new media landscape?" in Questioning Sociology. 2nd Edition. Edited by George Pavlick and Myra Hird. Oxford University Press, 2012, pp.119 – 134 ISBN 978-0-19-544031-7.
"No Contest: American Idol and the Culture of Competition" in Transformations and mistranslations: American remakes of international television. Edited by Carlen Lavigne and Heather Marcovitch (Lexington Books (Rowan and Littlefield, 2011), pp. 17 - 34.
Discography: Isiah Lightning. Starry Crown CD. Performed banjo. Released September, 2016, Bad People. You’re This Close CD, Tooth & the Fang. Void: moving without having moved. CD. Released May, 2016, digital single "Mary Had a Baby" (2011), Brent Mason's Old, New, Borrowed, Blue (2011), New Wolf at the Door (2011), Mike Biggar's The Season (2010), Saint John 225 A Celebration in Song, (2010), A Very Vintage Christmas (2009), One Runs at Midnight (The Shaggy Dogs 2006).
