Lex Ferenda

The More Loving One
Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.

Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.

WH Auden’s poem, reproduced in full above, is quite gentle; but also quite evocative. What it’s not, though, is offensive, or so you would have thought. But no, apparently it’s too much for the sensitive souls at the Coral Academy of Science in Nevada, who could not condone the possibilities that the words ‘damn’ and ‘hell’ might pass the lips of a fourteen year old student. Jacob Beyhmer-Smith, the lad in question, successfully sought an injunction against his school, who had previously prevented him from reciting it in poetry competitions. The judge wrote that “when spoken in the context of a poem at a school-authorized, off-campus competition and written by a nationally recognized poet, the court finds that the language sought to be censured cannot even remotely cause a disruption of the educational mission”.

From the Reno Gazette-Journal and Findlaw. An excellent letter was written by the National Coalition Against Censorship, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, PEN, and the National Council of Teachers of English (all US). The judge was Brian Sandoval, a former (Republican) AG of Nevada.

I am giving a presentation on this topic as a part of the Dublin Legal Workshop on Tuesday 25th April 2006, in the (Beckett-inscribed) Law School, at 7pm. I’ll post the slides etc afterwards. All welcome!

Abstract:

This presentation will consider a current legal and technological problem - how to provide for linguistic diversity in the content and architecture of the Internet - in the light of past experiences and contemporary international law and regulation.

Three case studies of prior controversies involving legal, technological and other concerns will be reviewed:

* Irish: The virtual disappearance of the ‘Gaelic’ type (cló Gaelach) in favour of the Roman type (cló Romhánach) and the roles of the Departments of Education, the Department of Finance, and others.
* Japanese: Script reform in the 20th century, and the development of Japanese word processing and information technology
* French: Application of ‘linguistic laws’ in Québec and France to the Internet

The current controversy is primary based on the need to provide for ‘internationalised domain names’ (IDNs) - to enable the use of characters and scripts outside of the standard (English) roman alphabet in email and Web addresses. ICANN, the curious legal animal that has some responsibilities for Internet regulation, as well as older international legal actors such as the International Telecommunciations Union (ITU) and UNESCO, national governments (most notably in China), NGOs, and technical or standardisation bodies (official and ad hoc) have all influenced this debate. Some have also attempted to deal with substantive questions of online language use. However on the Internet, where ‘code is law’ (Lawrence Lessig, 1999), embedded values and standards are extremely significant. What role can legal instruments play in prescribing and providing for linguistic rights in the new century?

Samuel Beckett’s centenary/birthday is being celebrated this week. The Law School’s building in TCD is now graced with a plaque (or tablet, or memorial, or what you will) marking the fact that the man himself lived there as a student and as a staff member in the 1920s and 30s for some years. To my shame, despite having attended classes and tutorials in that building since 2000, I was unaware of this fact…

You, though, may be aware of a certain other contribution to the celebrations - that of Paul Hewson (aka Bono) of U2, who read a pastiche/tribute at the launch of the official events, “Un homage du Bono au maestro Samuel Beckett, starring un homage du Mannix Flynn à Barry McGovern - or a piece what I wrote called Waiting For Colgan“. Colgan is Michael Colgan, director of the Gate Theatre in Dublin, and one of the organiser of the centenary festival.

RTÉ has audio and video of the whole thing. Enjoy.