Why Should We Talk About Culture, When We Want to Understand ‘Surveillance’?

Dietmar Kammerer

doi:10.22029/oc.2018.1152

Dietmar Kammerer University of Marburg

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22029/oc.2018.1152

Keywords: David Lyon, humanities, pop culture, surveillance, surveillance studies

Abstract

Why should we talk about culture, when we want to understand ‘surveillance’? The following is a brief sketch towards an answer to this question. It has two parts: first, it presents and discusses how the term ‘culture’ is used within Surveillance Studies, an emerging transdisciplinary field combining research from social and political sciences as well as cultural studies and the humanities, and highlights the works of Torin Monahan and David Lyon in particular. Second, it puts forward a set of arguments why any reflection on surveillance must not ignore the cultural perspective.

Author Biography

Dietmar Kammerer, University of Marburg

Dietmar Kammerer received his doctorate in cultural studies at the Humboldt University, Berlin. He is currently employed as a researcher in film and media studies at the University of Marburg where he coordinates the open access repository for media studies (mediarep). His research focuses on surveillance and data protection as well as film analysis.