MEDS 283 - Of States and Their Terrorists: Cultures of Surveillance and Resistance in Germany and Beyond

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

(Same as GERM 283) It is common knowledge today that innocuous apps collect your data and share it with third parties. But how did we get here? This course concentrates on the late 20th and early 21st centuries, when surveillance became detached from the act of seeing and made synonymous with big data collection. We focus on various theories of surveillance from the panopticon to surveillance capitalism as well as the troubling intersections between surveillance, race, and gender, exploring these approaches through the lens of literature, film, and media art. This course also places particular attention on domestic terrorist groups, such as the Red Army Faction, and West Germany’s counter-terrorism measures. Activities and assignments may also include conversations with outside experts, including media studies scholars and programmers, as well as hands-on digital workshops. Anna Mayer.

Readings and discussions are in English.

Two 75-minute periods.

Not offered in 2022/23.

Course Format: CLS