This workshop will bring together a multi-disciplinary and international array of scholars studying the social implications of contemporary surveillance with a particular interest in questions of the public sphere, equality, civil liberties, privacy, and fairness.

We will hold a three-day workshop in March 2007, centered around issues of social justice with regard to surveillance. The objectives are

1. to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on contemporary surveillance issues,
2. to map core areas of surveillance research to locate collaborative opportunities and existing research gaps, and
3. to facilitate graduate student training.

Given the diversity of scholarly interest in and approaches to surveillance, the workshop will be structured around discussion themes that individuals from any disciplinary background can participate in. The central organizing question will be “What research projects are needed to better understand and mitigate inequalities within a surveillance society?”

In order to examine differential experiences of surveillance, the workshop will be organized around several thematic areas, including

• privacy/trust
• citizenship/governance
• mobility/identity
• power/control
• fear/danger
• equality/fairness

The findings of the workshops will be disseminated by means of a special issue of the journal Surveillance & Society and possibly as an edited book.

Travel stipends, food, and lodging will be provided for all participants. Participants will be chosen to provide a balanced representation of both junior and senior scholars, disciplinary training, and international perspectives. Graduate students and participants from outside the U.S. are especially encouraged to apply.

Potential participants should submit:

1. A 500-750 word abstract that discusses how your current and/or future research fits with the proposed workshop theme of surveillance and inequality, and

2. A two-page curriculum vitae or resume, listing your relevant publications and experience.

Deadline: December 15, 2006
Submit materials to: workshop@publicsurveillance.com

We will select and notify participants by January 15, 2007. For more information, please contact Torin Monahan
(torin.monahan@asu.edu) or visit
www.publicsurveillance.com/workshop.html. This project is supported by the National Science Foundation under grant #0623122 and by the School of Justice & Social Inquiry at Arizona State University.