Description
Discover a profound exploration of surveillance and societal control in 'The Inspection House.' This compelling trade paperback, published by Coach House Books in 2014, delves into the historical roots of the panopticon conceived by British philosopher Jeremy Bentham in 1787. Bentham envisioned a revolutionary design for prisons and institutions, representing an early model of personalized surveillance. Renowned French philosopher Michel Foucault later expanded on this concept in his seminal work, 'Discipline and Punish,' illustrating how surveillance became a method for societal control.
Today, surveillance technology has evolved tremendously, encompassing everything from shopping malls to social networks, sending shockwaves through our privacy and freedom. 'The Inspection House' invites readers on a critical tour through contemporary sites of surveillance, examining the powerful yet often flawed mechanisms that monitor us—from Guantánamo Bay to the activist spaces of the Occupy movement. Authored by Tim Maly, a noteworthy contributor to esteemed publications such as Wired and The Atlantic, along with designer Emily Horne of A Softer World, this book provides a striking portrayal of both our modern surveillance state and its resistance.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9781552453018
Format: Trade paperback (US)
Year: 2014
Publisher: Coach House Books
Note: Enjoy free shipping on this item! Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9781552453018
Format: Trade paperback (US)
Year: 2014
Publisher: Coach House Books
Description:
In 1787, British philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham conceived of the panopticon, a ring of cells observed by a central watchtower, as a labor-saving device for those in authority. While Bentham's design was ostensibly for a prison, he believed that any number of places that require supervision—factories, poorhouses, hospitals, and schools—would benefit from such a design. The French philosopher Michel Foucault took Bentham at his word. In his groundbreaking 1975 study, Discipline and Punish, the panopticon became a metaphor to describe the creeping effects of personalized surveillance as a means for ever-finer mechanisms of control.
Forty years later, the available tools of scrutiny, supervision, and discipline are far more capable and insidious than Foucault dreamed, and yet less effective than Bentham hoped. Shopping malls, container ports, terrorist holding cells, and social networks all bristle with cameras, sensors, and trackers. But, crucially, they are also rife with resistance and prime opportunities for revolution. The Inspection House is a tour through several of these sites—from Guantánamo Bay to the Occupy Oakland camp and the authors' own mobile devices—providing a stark, vivid portrait of our contemporary surveillance state and its opponents.
Tim Maly is a regular contributor to Wired, the Atlantic, and Urban Omnivore and is a 2014 fellow at Harvard University's Metalab.
Emily Horne is the designer and photographer of the webcomic A Softer World.
Today, surveillance technology has evolved tremendously, encompassing everything from shopping malls to social networks, sending shockwaves through our privacy and freedom. 'The Inspection House' invites readers on a critical tour through contemporary sites of surveillance, examining the powerful yet often flawed mechanisms that monitor us—from Guantánamo Bay to the activist spaces of the Occupy movement. Authored by Tim Maly, a noteworthy contributor to esteemed publications such as Wired and The Atlantic, along with designer Emily Horne of A Softer World, this book provides a striking portrayal of both our modern surveillance state and its resistance.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9781552453018
Format: Trade paperback (US)
Year: 2014
Publisher: Coach House Books
Note: Enjoy free shipping on this item! Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9781552453018
Format: Trade paperback (US)
Year: 2014
Publisher: Coach House Books
Description:
In 1787, British philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham conceived of the panopticon, a ring of cells observed by a central watchtower, as a labor-saving device for those in authority. While Bentham's design was ostensibly for a prison, he believed that any number of places that require supervision—factories, poorhouses, hospitals, and schools—would benefit from such a design. The French philosopher Michel Foucault took Bentham at his word. In his groundbreaking 1975 study, Discipline and Punish, the panopticon became a metaphor to describe the creeping effects of personalized surveillance as a means for ever-finer mechanisms of control.
Forty years later, the available tools of scrutiny, supervision, and discipline are far more capable and insidious than Foucault dreamed, and yet less effective than Bentham hoped. Shopping malls, container ports, terrorist holding cells, and social networks all bristle with cameras, sensors, and trackers. But, crucially, they are also rife with resistance and prime opportunities for revolution. The Inspection House is a tour through several of these sites—from Guantánamo Bay to the Occupy Oakland camp and the authors' own mobile devices—providing a stark, vivid portrait of our contemporary surveillance state and its opponents.
Tim Maly is a regular contributor to Wired, the Atlantic, and Urban Omnivore and is a 2014 fellow at Harvard University's Metalab.
Emily Horne is the designer and photographer of the webcomic A Softer World.