Hybrid Course: zoom/in-person

October/November 2020

University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK

Guest Scholar:  Randolph Lewis, University of Texas at Austin

Surveillance technology is now interwoven with every aspect of modern life---TSA scanners, Predator drones, ubiquitous social media, Big Data marketing, and “always listening” smart speakers are just the tip of the iceberg. Working from an interdisciplinary perspective that will bring the sociologically-based research of surveillance studies into conversation with humanities scholarship related to art, film, history, architecture, and affect, we will explore the psychology and politics underlying the institutionalization of insecurity in the US. What are the hidden costs of living in a “control society” in which surveillance is deemed essential to government and business? This is the central question in a seminar that will weigh the impact of surveillance on privacy, dignity, autonomy, creativity, and emotion in the contemporary US.

Randolph Lewis is Professor of American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Most recently, he is the author of Under Surveillance: Being Watched in Modern America (2017), which has been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, The Atlantic, and NPR. He is co-editor of a book series on indigenous media for the University of Nebraska Press; co-producer of the documentary film, Texas Tavola: A Taste of Sicily in the Lone Star State. He is also the founder and editor of The End of Austin, a digital humanities project that explores the shifting cultural geography of the fastest growing city in the US. In addition to tracking new trends in surveillance technology, he is currently making a documentary film about post-apocalyptic faux tribalism in the Mojave desert. 

• Enrollment through your home campus
• OSLEP provides all required reading materials at no additional cost - NO books to buy!
• Housing and meals provided

Important dates:

October 22, 7-9pm CST zoom meeting

October 29, 7-9pm CST zoom meeting

November 7, 10am-4pm CST in person workshop/lecture in Norman

Spring 2021

Date to be announced Fall 2020

University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK

Guest Scholar:  Jean Hunleth, Washington University, St. Louis, School of Medicine

Children around the world face life and death situations every day. They are part of families and communities that are confronted by serious social and political problems, from the AIDS epidemic and other disease outbreaks to extreme poverty, forced migration, structural racism, and war. Numerous global health and humanitarian interventions aim to help children, such as those targeted at orphans or children outside of family care. However, very few incorporate children’s perspectives of their own needs into their programming, leading to potentially ineffective or harmful interventions. We will address the following questions: Why should we take children seriously in global health and humanitarian work? How do children participate in families and communities in ways that impact health and wellbeing? And what research methods are appropriate for working with children in adversity? We will also address head-on the longstanding devaluation of children’s knowledge, actions, and experiences in policymaking and program development. As a class, we will develop ways to get decision makers to take children seriously.

Jean Hunleth works with children and families to identify more appropriate ways to deliver public health. She uses methods from anthropology and the visual arts and is especially fascinated by the important social and political implication of children’s fantasies and play. Jean earned her PhD in Anthropology and Master of Public Health from Northwestern University. She is the author of the award-winning book, Children as Caregivers: The Global Fight against Tuberculosis and HIV in Zambia, and numerous articles published in anthropological, public health, child welfare, and medical journals. She got her start in global health as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia, which drove her to pursue a career focused on children’s creativity and the diversity of childhood experiences.

• Enrollment through your home campus
• OSLEP provides all required reading materials at no additional cost - NO books to buy!
• Housing and meals provided