The Surveillance

SocietyCOM 327

February 5, 2013

1.Quiz2.Foucault mini-lecture3.Group work: Breaking down the readings

1. According to Andrejevic, the “digital enclosure” is a more apt metaphor than _________ for describing current trends in digital data storage and access.

a) the golden archesb) the cloudc) the Caped Crusaderd) double rainbow

2. “In return for this convenience, ______ reserves the right to mine its rapidly expanding databases for commercial purposes.” (Andrejevic, p. 296)

a) Obamab) Big Brotherc) Googled) Biebertron 5000

3. Andrejevic describes an effort on the part of Google and EarthLink to provide the city of San Francisco with free _________, financed bythe collection of information provided by the users.

a) wifib) computersc) tracking devicesd) kittens

4. Google collects information about you (the user) in two ways: information provided by you directly and ...

a) information provided by surveying your friendsb) information found on your hard drivec) information from your use of Google servicesd) information collected by Googling your name

Foucault, the Panopticon, and the Surveillance SocietyAka, “Why aren’t we losing our **** over this?”

“The Age of Reason”

Michel Foucault(1926 – 1984)

Discipline & Punishment: The Birth of the Prison (1975)

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.

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 surveillancehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6e7wfDHzew&feature=player_embedded

Questions?

Andrejevic groups:1. Summarize in your own words2. Pick out representative quote3. Define any new / tough words4. Email or hand in after class

Google groups:Identify silences, loopholes & vague or unanswered parts of the privacy policy

Group 1“Recentralization” (p. 296-301)

Group 2“A Digital Enclosure Movement”, part 1(p. 301 to bottom of p. 305, “…has to be networked”)

Group 3“A Digital Enclosure Movement”, part 2(bottom p. 305, “The process of…” to end of section)

Group 4“Implications”, part 1(p. 310 to middle p. 313, “…the ‘war’ on terror”)

Group 5“Implications”, part 2(p. 313, “In somewhat more abstract terms…” to end)