Universität Wien

230156 SE The 'Same' Person? Past, Present, and Future of Identification Practices and Techniques (2012S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 23 - Soziologie
Continuous assessment of course work

Please note: There will be an excursion on May 3, details to be announced.
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 08.03. 16:15 - 18:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 15.03. 16:15 - 18:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 22.03. 16:15 - 18:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 29.03. 16:15 - 18:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 19.04. 16:15 - 18:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 26.04. 16:15 - 18:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 10.05. 16:15 - 18:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 24.05. 16:15 - 18:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 31.05. 16:15 - 18:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 14.06. 16:15 - 18:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 21.06. 16:15 - 18:00 Seminarraum STS, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/6. Stock, 1010 Wien

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Which features constitute individual identity? When is a person 'the same one'? How can authorities verify that someone is who she or he pretends to be? What measures are deemed suitable to prevent identity fraud?
Debates about the identification of individuals, data gatherings established by governmental and non-governmental organizations, registration processes, the surveillance of public and private spaces, and the invasion of privacy have brought forward academic interest in the negotiation, implementation and application of identification practices and techniques (e.g. identity papers, fingerprinting, DNA, face recognition). This interest has gained even more topicality with the ongoing computerization of identification and surveillance practices.
The seminar will address questions of how persons and their (deviant) behavior were identified in the past, how individuals are identified in present scenarios, and how their identification in the future is imagined. The question 'Who is this person?' always involves the question 'What kind of person is this?'. This means that the identification of individuals is closely linked to categorizing them into various collective identities. In this respect, the history of identification practices is also a history of categories and collectivities.

Assessment and permitted materials

Participants are expected to read texts in preparation of the weekly classes, to present selected texts once during the semester to the seminar, and to write short statements (1-2 pages) to reflect the mandatory readings and ongoing discussions. At the end of the course we ask for a final reflection paper which arises as a result from the short written statements.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The seminar will focus on different historical and social settings in which identification practices and techniques have been discussed and applied, ranging from the early modern period to the long 19th century to cyberspace identification. Based on a historical long-term perspective, we aim to acquire distinguished explanations for the problem of identification that are often missing from contemporary public debates.

Examination topics

We will discuss these topics mainly on the basis of texts from different academic fields such as history, identification and surveillance studies, and science and technology studies (STS). A seminar reader will be provided at the beginning of the semester. Also, we will enrich the discussions with practical exercises (e.g. source analysis).

Reading list

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:39