The tracking, sharing, and analysis of data significantly influences almost all aspects of modern life. Nowadays we participate more than ever in our own surveillance. Our private data in the form of “data doubles” – an accumulation of transactional data, personal information, and lifelogging – builds an essential part of our identities, which results in a fusion of analog and digital realities and blurs the lines between watching and being watched. We may revel in the commercialization of personal data when it promises to entertain or assist us, but we often underestimate the repercussions…namely, loss of privacy. This everyday surveillance, according to William G. Staples, is “being built on a foundation of seduction, desire, fear, and salvation.” In our post-Snowden era we bear witness to tremendous challenges of individual privacy protection from government intelligence agencies under the guise of national security.

The German Graduate Student Association of Vanderbilt University welcomes 20-minute presentations of any format from all disciplines on topics, including but not limited to, the aesthetics of surveillance as depicted in: literature, arts, multimedia projects, music, history, politics, law, sociology, media studies, computer science, American and German culture surrounding data, and, of course, surveillance studies.  The conference will be conducted in English.

Topics of Interest:

• Mass surveillance in the German historical, political, and cultural context
• Virtual love, care, and trust in algorithms
• (Moving) Images of surveillance and the representation of war and genocide
• The aesthetics of surveillance in social media, gaming, and online dating
• The politics, ethics, and aesthetics of new transparency
• The intersection of surveillance and pedagogy
• Corporeality, visibility, and liquidity in the information age
• Synesthetic experiences of surveillance
• Translations, transformations, and reincarnations of surveillance mechanisms in the aesthetic sphere
• The role of spies, whistleblowers, and intelligence agencies in the analog and digital
• The value of privacy and intimacy in the (post-)panoptical world
• Legality of tracking, sharing, and storing personal data
• The European Data Directive vs. U.S. privacy protection

To Attend: Submit a 250 word abstract to vu.ggsa.grad.conference@gmail.com (link sends e-mail). Include your name, departmental affiliation, and contact information, as well as any equipment needed.