Surveillance all around

Panopticism (Michel Foucault)

I think that this selection from Foucault's theory on the panopticon is quite possibly my favorite thing that we have read all semester. Although it was pretty bulky in places, it was still not too terrible to get through. I think that his view on the "delinquent" as being mostly a product of the same system that is attempting to monitor his activities (if I understood this point correctly), is a little bit short-sighted, however. Although I think this does relate back to the idea that many younger people in this society feel the need to "act out" just to draw attention to themselves, I don't really think this holds for the majority of adults -- we become socialized, rather, to stay within the boundaries of the law in order to get the good jobs and lead the "good lives", which shows that it is inevitably economic in nature.

I also do think, however, and maybe I'm kind of missing the point, that these sorts of surveillances are somewhat needed in many circles of lives. When implemented and used correctly, they have great potential to protect citizens, and many of the surveillance techniques used today are really more of a response to what the market wants than anything. Yes, credit cards, online shopping, bus passes, etc. increase the potential for us to be tracked and surveilled, if power is misused, I think that the majority of citizens enjoy its added convenience utility so much that they probably are somewhat apathetic to this issue -- it's kind of fun to just swipe a card and be on your way! This is the world we live in.

Managing the Informated Organization (Shoshana Zuboff)

Yes, technology has changed many things in our society... I don't think that this will come as a surprise to anyone. We've also discussed the loss of face-to-face social contact within the workplace as a serious issue as well as the overdependence on technological interfaces that are lofty and difficult to use, as it somewhat spins out of control and becomes ultimately useless, which was revealed by the plant manager from Cedar Bluff who mentioned the question "Is the technology right?" (325). This tends to be a basic question that I think gets missed much of the time when people are setting up new systems to manage business operations, as well as in many other settings today. It is a teleological fallacy to assume that whatever is "new" is truly "improved" -- Are we reaching a point where the cons are starting to outweigh the pros? It's difficult to say... but honestly, I don't think we're that far off from this happening.

New Directions in Theory (David Lyon)

I couldn't believe when this text started with a reference to "The Net". I have a very real affinity for this film, and when I knew we were looking at surveillance with these readings, I was just waiting for someone to bring it up.... Sandra Bullock in her finest hour, for sure. I would have to agree with Gary T. Marx's argument that we are heading toward the "maximum surveillance society" (328) and I think that much of Lyon is saying sounds really nice -- with a "return to the body", but ultimately, I think that in many ways, this is what people are asking for today, as I argued with the previous text. You can't blame business enterprises for responding to this market demand, and I'm not sure what good it truly does to only put the "bodies" into the role of the victim with this issue.