Final Project

For the final project, I'm going to do my research paper on what I will be referring to as social surveillance, meaning the ways in which individuals learn to watch each other within groups and ultimately act as surveillance systems within society. I will be looking at the ways in which I view this concept within the group of students involved with the program - how we discuss other members of the group when they are not present (I will refrain from using direct quotes or excerpts from discussions - I am more interested in the power dynamics of group discussion and how it works, rather than what is actually being said), the cliques that have been formed, and the ways we keep tabs on each other and constantly review these tabs with one another (of course, I will not be using any names of the students to keep them anonymous), how we have learned to censor ourselves in certain social situations, and also look at the ways in which the instructors fit into this dynamic. I will also be looking the social surveillance of Berlin - the ways in which  people watch each other (the German stare) and the literal surveillance systems around the city (i.e. security, video surveillance). For my video ethnography section, I will be drawing visual representations of these systems. I am excited!