Introducing the special issue "Rethinking surveillance: theories, discourses, structures, and practices"

Samantha Adams

Nadezhda Purtova

pp. 5-7

in: Samantha Adams, Nadezhda Purtova (eds), Rethinking surveillance, Philosophy & Technology 30 (1), 2017.

Abstract

Surveillance theories and discourses develop in parallel with surveillance structures and practices. To observe and reflect on these developments in the context of health was one of the purposes of the 2015 edition of the conference “TILTing perspectives. Under observation,” hosted by Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society. The conference brought together eHealth and surveillance studies—two hitherto unrelated streams of scholarship interested in observation—in order to inspire cross-fertilization between the two fields. Upon reflection on the conference results, it seemed natural to continue to look further into how other contexts beyond eHealth can bring new insights into the legal, ethical, and social meanings of being “under observation” and further lead to “rethinking surveillance.”