Sous-veillance vs Surveillance: Street Demonstrations

Sous-veillance (seeing from the bottom) is a term meaning the use of technologies of surveillance against the state or against those in power. Who is watching whom on New York City streets? Who is demonstrating? It's not always clear. From the NYT: "The officers hoist protest signs. They hold flowers with mourners. They ride in bicycle events. At the vigil for the cyclist, an officer in biking gear wore a button that said, "I am a shameless agitator." She also carried a camera and videotaped the roughly 15 people present.... After Mr. Browne [spokesman for the Police] was sent photographs of the people involved in the convention incidents and the bicycle arrests, he said, "I am not commenting on descriptions of purported or imagined officers."" For more on the history of conflicts over urban surveillance in NYC see the Gotham Gazette's article on the issue.

Loic Waquant and the Paris Riots

For an intriguing analysis of the Paris riots, one of my colleagues, Gavin Smith, recently recommended an interview he had seen with this sociologist: Loic Wacquant. You can watch the "Roots of the Riots in the French City" (50 min) yourself from the link at the top of the page. He's a great speaker.

Queen W Grafitti Discussion

"So, things change. It's the way of all cities; the artists move where the rent is cheap, the neighbourhood starts looking better because the artists are there, the rent goes up, the artists move further west. And the beat goes on..." Check out the discussion here.

A New Radical Force in Asian Politics

""We are one of the exploited people of the world," said Eni Lestari, 25, a maid from Indonesia who has lived in Hong Kong for six years. Miss Lestari was 20 and had been out of Indonesia for only six months when she formed the Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers to help other women like herself."

Sharon Kelly named TA for the Course

I am happy to announce that Sharon Kelly, an alumnus of Metropolis
347, has been named as the TA for the 2006 session. Sharon is a
graduate student in the Anthropology Department and is currently
conducting research on the Regent's Park redevelopment project. We
are all fortunate to have Sharon on board with us again.

Bandung

This is a picture of Bandung, Indonesia. Formerly a colonial hill station, Bandung has grown into a large metropolis.

Syllabus is in the works

The course syllabus should be ready in the not too distant future. I'm also hoping to add links on the side here relating to both the city of Toronto and to research resources.