The Surveillance Society
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The Surveillance Society COM 327 March 18,
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The Surveillance Society. COM 327 March 18, 2013. QUIZ!!!. 1. Fuchs : “__________ surveillance approaches define surveillance as the systematic collection of data about humans or non-humans. They argue that surveillance is a characteristic of all societies. ” a) natural b) critical - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of The Surveillance Society
The Surveillance
Society
COM 327March
18, 2013
QUIZ!!!
1. Fuchs:“__________ surveillance approaches define surveillance as the systematic collection of data about humans or non-humans. They argue that surveillance is a characteristic of all societies.”
a) naturalb) criticalc) neutrald) liberal
2. In contrast to “surveillance”, Fuchs discusses more positive information gathering like Skyping between friends and parents observing their sleeping baby via webcam.
He calls these kinds of things:
a) friendly spyingb) Big Brotheringc) monitoringd) soft surveillance
3. According to Fuchs, what is the main source of income on social networking sites?
a) premium subscriptionsb) micro-transactionsc) targeted advertisingd) bitcoin mining
4. Josh Steams looks to the fight against “Big _________” for inspiration in how citizens can fight against data tracking.
a) Brotherb) Datac) Tobaccod) Poppa
BONUSFrom the News & Observer article:“NCSU already has a long history with ____________.”
a) spying on studentsb) hiring nutjob Canadiansc) big datad) devastating basketball games
1. Group presentation! 2. Foucault & “Panopticism” mini-lecture 3. Group work
FOUCAULT:THE RETURN
How are “subjects” formed?
Role of institutions – law, medicine, family, government - in defining and enforcing “normalcy”
Law & Government: Obedient citizensMedicine: Mental stabilityFamily: Gender & sexualityEducation: Productive workers
“Discourse” = the sum total of rules, expectations, conventions, protocols, & styles that constitute normalcy with regards to a given institution.
The systems of meaning by which these rules become regarded as “natural”.
E.g “Mothering discourse”: Those rules and expectations that means you’re a “good mother” -- stay home with your kids, make their food, clean up, help them with their homework.
Discipline & Punishment: The Birth of the Prison (1975)
With the decline of forms of “absolute” power and “spectacular” forms of punishment, how are subjects governed in the “age of reason?”
THE PANOPTICON
“a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example”
The perfect device / apparatus to ensure DISCIPLINE – aka self-regulation – is something that allows someone to see without being seen.
For Foucault, the Panopticon was both a PRODUCT of a shift, starting in the 18th century, towards instilling self-regulation in people, and a SYMBOL of the means through which that happens
Institutions were (and are) designed to instill discipline & self-regulation through making people EASILY WATCHED.
The root of modern subjectivity:
“I better act [obedient, normal, straight, sane] because someone’s always watching”
We are already PRIMED for surveillance
“Lateral surveillance”“In an age in which everyone is to be considered potentially suspect, all are simultaneously urged to become spies—for our own good (494)”
Andrejevic, M. (2005). The work of watching one another: Lateral surveillance, risk, and governance. Surveillance & Society, 2(4), 479-497
“Lateral surveillance” examples• Online background checks• Gmail application that lets you know when someone read a
message you sent• iPhone’s ‘received’ vs ‘read’ text notification• DIY surveillance cameras
“Lateral surveillance”“Monitoring strategies that once would have seemed excessive and paranoid, such as keeping track of all the recent phone calls made by one’s significant other, become trivial in the era of cell phones” (Andrejevic, 493).
“The participatory injunction of the interactive revolution extends monitoring techniques from the cloistered offices of the Pentagon to the everyday spaces of our homes and offices, from law enforcement and espionage to dating, parenting, and social life. In an era in which everyone is to be considered potentially suspect, we are invited to become spies – for our own good” (Andrejevic, 494).
What’s the IDEOLOGY here?
Group workCorporate surveillance (companies like Google, Facebook etc. tracking data)
1. What is their rationale?2. What are the consequences?3. Who benefits & how?
Government surveillance (gov’t agencies tracking data)
4. What is their rationale?5. What are the consequences?6. Who benefits & how?
