Surveillance and Society

Catalog description

Surveillance is fundamentally concerned with social control. The course tracks the historical development of surveillance, from its origins in embodied experience and record keeping through the rise of computing, social media and big data. This history provides a backdrop against which critical theories of surveillance are introduced, drawing attention to how power is exercised through systems of identification, social classification, visibility, and statistical knowledge. Students are required to have taken two 500 level CMN courses (C-) to take this course, unless granted instructor permission.