Surveillance and Privacy

(4 Credits)

When does surveillance strengthen the bonds of society, and when does it erode them? This course examines the historical, cultural, and political significance of surveillance over the last millennium, with a particular focus on its relationship to privacy. From the spy networks of the Abbasid caliphs to Bentham’s panopticon prison, and from European colonial fingerprinting practices to facial recognition software, the course considers how people in different societies have grappled with the power to watch and the desire to remain unseen. How does surveillance function as a means of governance? How have developments in the methods and technologies of surveillance shaped how we think about identity and personal information? In the age of electronic surveillance, what are we willing to sacrifice for security—or convenience? Students explore these questions through film, literature, social media, and historical documents like passports and census records, drawing insight from history, philosophy, sociology, and anthropology.