RLEC call for papers: ‘Surveillance with, beyond and against the biometric body’

The call for papers for the Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies, on Surveillance with, Beyond and Against the Biometric Body, is open until 14 February 2025.

Thematic Editors: Ece Canlı (CECS, University of Minho, Portugal) and Pedro Vieira de Oliveira (Universität der Künste Berlin, Germany)

Surveillance, one of the most controversial ethical, socio-political, legal and technological issues of the 21st century, has not only become a widely debated topic in the new media over the last few decades, but has also fuelled the creation of new academic fields, such as surveillance studies (Ball, Haggerty & Lyon, 2012; Monahan & Wood, 2018), and creative genres such as the art of surveillance – also known as ‘artveillance’ (Brighenti, 2010; Monahan, 2017). On the one hand, surveillance technologies are often presented in mainstream government and business discourse from a technohumanist perspective, underlining their potential to optimise traffic flow, increase productivity in workplaces, improve public safety and security, as well as prevent crime. On the other hand, as critical academics, researchers and human rights and data activists have long demonstrated, the use of these devices and systems poses significant risks, not only for individuals, but also for communities. Especially for those who are particularly exposed to constant monitoring, control, categorisation and criminalisation based on their race, gender, class, sexuality, ability, migratory or legal status (Browne, 2016; Kafer & Grinberg, 2019; Keshavarz, 2024; Saltes, 2013). Among the concerns raised are the erosion of privacy, the potential misuse of personal data, the risk of misidentification, the reduction of human oversight and critical thinking in decision-making processes, as well as the restriction of freedom of expression under constant monitoring – which can intensify a culture of fear.

This debate has been significantly amplified by the rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, which has given rise to a new ‘surveillant assemblage’ (Haggerty & Ericson, 2000), in which a decentralised network of surveillance technologies collectively monitors, analyses and acts on personal data. Bodies and their data have become the main currency of this omnipresent machine. This penetrating surveillance gaze is not only limited to private and public spaces, but also to the boundaries of the body, transforming it into a socio-technical composite. What’s more, the commodification of personal data in this new paradigm of ‘surveillance capitalism’ (Zuboff, 2019) shapes bodies, individual behaviour and social relations in such a dramatic way that it requires a constantly evolving reading, deconstruction and analysis.

This thematic special issue therefore seeks to critically explore the role of surveillance technologies and their material impacts on monitored, categorised and discriminated against individuals, as well as on their physical, social, cultural and political bodies. We welcome interdisciplinary contributions (research articles, interviews and book reviews) at the intersection of cultural studies with sociology, criminology, Science and Technology Studies, the arts, media studies, sound studies, legal studies, political science, literature and related fields. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Genealogies and minor histories of surveillance technologies and their variable consequences on individuals and societies;
• Physical, cognitive, mental and affective impacts of surveillance on the body;
• Biometric technologies (e.g. fingerprints, iris scans, DNA and facial, voice, speech and dialect recognition) and their role in policing, profiling and the criminalisation of bodies;
• The intersection of surveillance with race, ethnicity and political identity;
• The use of AI and machine learning in immigration control and border security;
• Genders, sexualities and intimacies under surveillance;
• Surveillance of public spaces (i.e. airports, campuses, streets and other urban areas) and its implications for accessibility and the right to the city;
• Surveillance through private devices (i.e. smart homes, dash-cams), self-surveillance (i.e. smartwatches) and the changing dynamics of visibility, invisibility and hypervisibility;
• The growing integration of surveillance technologies into criminal justice (i.e. electronic monitoring, risk assessment tools, law enforcement body cameras) and their connection to punitive practices;
• Drones, verticality and aerial forms of control (Weizman 2002; Steyerl 2011) of lands and peoples under occupation;
• Ethical and human rights considerations surrounding the use of technology in surveillance and local personal data protection policies;
• Concerns regarding Big Data, digital privacy rights and algorithmic bias;
• Surveillance art, artistic surveillance and other artistic interventions;
• Activisms, grassroots movements and counter-surveillance practices that avoid, challenge and confront surveillance states;
• Speculative post-surveillance scenarios.IMPORTANT DATESSubmission (full text): from 20 November 20 24 to 24 January 2025Issue publication: continuous edition (January to June 2025)LANGUAGEArticles can be submitted in English or Portuguese. Articles selected for publication will be translated into Portuguese or English, respectively, and must be published in full in both languages.EDITING AND SUBMISSIONThe Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies is an open-access academic journal that operates according to the demanding standards of the peer review system and operates on a double-blind review process. Each work submitted will be assigned to two reviewers who have been previously invited to evaluate it according to its academic quality, originality and relevance to the objectives and scope of the theme of this edition of the journal.Originals should be submitted via the journal’s website(https://www.rlec.pt/). If you are accessing Revista Lusófona de Estudos Culturais for the first time, you must register in order to submit your article (register here).

  The guide for authors can be consulted here.

  For more information, contact: rlec[at]ics.uminho.pt

  [Posted:20-11-2024 | Updated: 24-01-2025]