GERM 283 - From Grid to Network: Digital Surveillance in West Germany and Beyond

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as MEDS 283) It is common knowledge today that innocuous apps collect your data and share it with third parties. But how did we get here? With the rise of network technology, surveillance has
changed, becoming synonymous with big data collection and increasingly detached from the act of seeing. Focusing initially on West Germany, where one of the first mass-data surveillance programs was implemented, this course examines our contemporary surveillance apparatus and explores how mass-data surveillance originated in practices that predate the digital age. How is the grid a means for surveillance and visual representation alike? And how can we think of visual representations when all our images are stored in binary data? Our corpus has a strong focus on visual culture and our discussions is informed by media artists and theorists, such as Hito Steyerl, Harun Farocki, and Lev Manovich. Activities and assignments may also include conversations with outside experts, including media studies scholars and artists, as well as hands-on digital workshops with programmers. Anna Mayer.

Readings and discussions are in English.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS