Ethics, science and technology : global surveillance and the erasure of privacy

Abstract

This unit considers the effect of global surveillance on the private lives of citizens. It begins with a close reading of Deleuze’s concept of ‘societies of control’ to argue about the dissolution of the distinction between the public and private spheres of life. What is argued is that the leaks by Snowden revealed to us that we are all targets of surveillance. What is explored is whether governments can always politically turn to the issue of terrorism to justify their means of surveillance. Towards the end of the unit, the argument is broadened to explain how surveillance activities can weaken the democratic enterprise by diminishing the citizens’ rights for privacy.