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Aram Sinnreich Professor Communication Studies

Additional Positions at AU
Graduate Director, Communication Studies
Degrees
Ph.D. University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication, 2007; M.S. Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, 2000

Bio
Dr. Aram Sinnreich is a Professor and Graduate Director of the Communication Studies division at American University’s School of Communication. Sinnreich’s work focuses on the intersection of culture, law and technology, with an emphasis on subjects such as surveillance, critical data studies, intellectual property, remix culture, and music. He is the author of five books: Mashed Up (2010); The Piracy Crusade (2013); The Essential Guide to Intellectual Property (2019); science fiction novel A Second Chance for Yesterday (2023; coauthored with Rachel Hope Cleves as R.A. Sinn); and The Secret Life of Data (2024; coauthored with Jesse Gilbert). He has also written for publications including The New York Times, Billboard, Wired, The Daily Beast, and Rolling Stone.


Sinnreich is a core faculty member in the SOC doctoral program, and the MA in Media, Technology & Democracyand frequently collaborates on research publications and projects with SOC graduate students. Some recent examples include:

  • Rosa, F. R., Clifford, M., & Sinnreich, A. (2021). The more things change: Who gets left behind as remix goes mainstream? In E. Navas, O. Gallagher, and x. burrough (Eds.), The handbook of remix studies and digital humanities. New York: Routledge.
  • Sinnreich, A. & Dols, S. (2022). Chopping Neoliberalism, Screwing the Industry: DJ Screw, the Dirty South, and the Temporal Politics of Resistance. In R. Christopher (Ed.), Boogie down predictions: Hip-Hop, Time, and Afrofuturism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  • Sinnreich, A., Sanchez-Santos, M., Perry, N. W., & Aufderheide, P. (2023). Performative media policy: Section 230’s evolution from regulatory statute to loyalty oath. Communication Law & Policy.
  • Struett, T., Sinnreich, A., Aufderheide, P. & Gehl, R. (2025). Can This
    Platform Survive? Governance Challenges for the Fediverse. International Journal of
    Communication.

Prior to coming to AU, Sinnreich served as Associate Professor at Rutgers University's School of Communication and Information, Director at media innovation lab OMD Ignition Factory, Managing Partner of media/tech consultancy Radar Research, Visiting Professor at NYU Steinhardt, and Senior Analyst at Jupiter Research.


Sinnreich is also a bassist, composer, and music producer. He has played with groups and artists including progressive soul collective Brave New Girl, reggae soul band Dubistry, punk chanteuse Vivien Goldman, The Specialized Project, and Dunia & Aram, among many others. Sinnreich was a finalist in the 2014 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and a semi-finalist for the 2020 Bernard/Ebb songwriting award. He has also produced several Humanities Truck funded music projects, including 2022's Out of Our Shells and 2024's Out of Our Cells: Music by Incarcerated Composers in Washington DC.

See Also
Aram Sinnreich's personal homepage
Mastodon profile
Google Scholar profile
ORCID
Amazon author profile
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Spring 2025

  • COMM-754 Media Law and Policy

Partnerships & Affiliations

AU Experts

Area of Expertise

Intersection of culture/law/technology, emerging media, music, social media, net neutrality

For the Media

To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

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