André Sirois
Biography
Peace, what's good? My name is André, aka DJ food stamp, aka The Real Dr. Dré. I've been a fan of or involved in music and screens since the 80s. I have almost 25+ years’ experience in filmmaking (like with film), photography, sound recording/editing, DJing and sample-based beatmaking. I'm self-taught and bring that DIY approach to my teaching.
Beyond my teaching and role at UO, I'm a local DJ and I run a bi-annual record show, the TOP SCORE Record Show. I spent many years doing radio, as a music and sports journalist (including a stint at ESPN in Bristol), and my current personal interests revolve around sustainable, bio-diverse agriculture and honeybee farming.
Education
- Ph.D. in Communication and Society, University of Oregon, 2011
- Master of Arts in Communication, University of Maine, 2005
- Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Journalism, Central Connecticut State University, 2002
Statement
The bulk of my research broadly looks at the nature of technical and cultural innovation in general in relation to intellectual property law. Specifically, I look at DJ culture and technology as an example of how creativity is the byproduct of a network of people, products, brands, etc. My work addresses the relationship between DJ culture and the industries that serve it, and focuses on the manipulation, exchange and rights associated with intellectual properties in this context.
I specifically look at hip hop DJs (because I am one). While most scholarship suggests that hip hop DJs manipulate intellectual properties and are “criminals,” I explore how DJs themselves are intellectual properties that are manipulated by the industries in product R&D and in marketing. My book, which you can download as a free e-book, explores these dynamics.
This interest has also led to me found the DJpedia Archive and the Designed from Scratch Project. DJpedia is my archive of technology and media artifacts, and Designed from Scratch Project is both my portable exhibit and forthcoming coffee table book.
Publications
- Sirois, André. In Progress. Designed from Scratch: A Hip Hop History of the DJ Mixer, 1975-2005. (self-published coffee table book).
Sirois, André. 2022. Scratch Cyborgs: The Hip-Hop DJ as Technology. In Hip-Hop Theory: Time, Technology, and the 21st Century, ed. Roy Christopher. London: Strange Attractor Press.
Sirois, André. 2015. Scratching out authorship: The creative network of hip hop DJs. In Cultures of Copyright, eds. Danielle DeVoss and Martine Courant Rife, 196-210. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.
Sirois, André, and Janet Wasko. 2011. The Political Economy of Recorded Music. In The Handbook of Political Economy of Communications, eds. Janet Wasko, Graham Murdock, and Helena Sousa, 331-357. Walden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Sirois, André, and Shannon Martin. 2006. United States Copyright Law & Digital Sampling: Adding Color to a Grey Area, Information and Communication Technology Law 15, no. 1: 1-32.
Teaching
- CINE 230 “Remix Cultures”
- “Ireland on Screen” (Study Abroad in Dublin, Ireland)
- CINE 425 "Making Music Video"
- CINE 399 “Music Television(s)”
- CINE 425 "Sound For Screens"
- CINE 425 "Narrative DSLR Filmmaking"
- CINE 399 "Remix Culture(s)"
- CINE 399 "South Park & Society"
- CINE 399 "Hip Hop & Screens”
- CINE 199 “Hip Hop and the Politics of Sampling” (First-year Interest Group)
- CINE 199 “Remixing Media, ©ritiquing ©ulture” (First-year Interest Group)
- MUS 360 “Hip Hop Music: History, Aesthetics, Culture”