Further information can be found here

San Diego, CA

October 9 - 12, 2013

Please email titles, abstracts, and institutional affiliations to Torin Monahan   and Anders Albrechtslund by March 15, 2013.

The “big data” paradigm signals an intensification and distribution of algorithmic surveillance across multiple organizational and geographical scales. More than an exponential advancement in storage and processing capacity, big data currently operates as a fluid metaphor for the potential of data analytics to intelligently predict and respond to the needs of individuals and institutions. Clearly STS inquiry could fruitfully deconstruct the technological deterministic slant of discourses surrounding big data so that attention could be drawn to the values being inscribed in algorithms, the profound materiality of cloud computing, the control dimensions of pervasive software, and the active cultivation of new subjectivities as people come to understand themselves through their data doubles.

Surveillance is key to these processes, as the capture and processing of data is frequently oriented toward some form of intervention or control. Rather than viewing surveillance through big data as completely automated or neutral processes, this panel seeks to investigate the many forms of mediation and politics inherent in big-data applications.

Possible areas of inquiry might include:

• Data fusion, profiling, and prediction by security organizations.
• The crafting of new subjectivities as individuals embrace “quantified self” movements.
• The social and political effects of “filter bubbles” erected by various search platforms.
• Gamification of interaction with customers and clients as public and private organizations seek to capitalize on (and control) user involvement.
• Activist and civil-society harnessing of data repositories and sensing devices to achieve progressive outcomes.
• The optimization of urban infrastructures through “smart” information technologies.
• Health technologies used for documentation, analyses, predictions and recommendations.

The closest Arabic nuanced translation of surveillance is nizam al-muraqabah. By it we mean the gathering and recording of personal information, directly or indirectly, on individuals, groups and institutions for the purpose of influencing their conduct for positive or negative outcome. Surveillance is practiced by national and foreign governments and their agencies, international organizations, corporations, civic institutions, and individuals. Our main concern is the exercise of surveillance on individuals in their capacity as activists, citizens, consumers, travelers, and workers.

The planned journal issue will seek to explore the theoretical and empirical facets of surveillance practices and resistance to such practices, at the individual and group level. 

The papers will appear in Arabic. However, the journal accepts English submissions which, if they are accepted, will be translated by the journal into Arabic. Interested authors are requested to send the editor a one-page abstract outlining their contribution. The length of the paper should be around 20 typed pages, including endnotes, or between 6000 to 8000 words.

Please send your abstract by April 30, and the final paper by the end of August 2013 to:

For further information consult the website or the editors:

Omran, the social science and humanities journal

Umran@dohainstitute.org

Guest editor: zureike@queensu.ca

Further information available here

This is a seven-year Major Collaborative Research Initiative (MCRI) project (2008-2015). The successful applicant will be working with The New Transparency research team to support the online dissemination of existing research findings and conduct research related to the major project Transparent Lives: Surveillance in Canada. This project is a current assessment of surveillance investigating the major forms of monitoring, tracking, tracing, recording and processing of personal data in the full range of organizations, both governmental and commercial, in the Canadian context.

One Post-doctoral Fellowship ($36,000 CAD + benefits) is available for one year, starting date as soon as possible.

Applicants must have an demonstrable interest in surveillance studies. Experience with bilingualism (French and English), and statistical analysis would be an asset. Applicants should have a PhD in the social sciences. Opportunities will be given to pursue some original research and some teaching responsibilities may be available to suitably qualified candidates.

Please send by 22 February 2013 a curriculum vitae, transcripts, a sample publication or work-in-progress, two letters of reference and a letter of application to Ms Joan Sharpe, Project Administrator, Surveillance Studies Centre, c/o Department of Sociology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6.

Joan Sharpe
Project Administrator
Surveillance Studies Centre
c/o Dept of Sociology
Queen’s University
Kingston, ON K7L 3N6
Canada
(613) 533-6000, ext. 78867
(613) 533-6499 FAX
Twitter @sscqueens
www.sscqueens.org
www.newtransparency.org

The presentation will be followed by a lively roundtable discussion moderated by William Webster, University of Stirling (UK) with the following panellists: Ann Rudinow Sætnan, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO), Didier Bigo, King's College London (UK) and Kristin Veel, University of Copenhagen (DK).

More Info and details.