Neelam and Zaidi on a Postmodern Study of Environmental Conversion from Natural to Technological in Neuromancer Through the Lens of Ecocide @GreatDismal

Asma Neelam, National University of Modern Languages, and Saba Zaidi, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University, Department of English, have published A Postmodernist Study of Environmental Conversion from Natural to Technological in Neuromancer Through the Lens of Ecocide. Here is the abstract.

The pervasive urbanization and technology advancement has almost destroyed the natural order that has caused Ecocide. Humanity is facing a hard time of climatic change and habitat destruction. Although the level of public awareness related to environmental issues has been increased yet this is not sufficient enough to regenerate the old balance of nature. Deterioration in the ecosystem is depicted in most of the Postmodern literature as a constant shift from natural to technological. The cities of today that boast of steel and glass skyscrapers, flyovers, signal towers and elevated freeways (that have greatly influenced nature and humanity) are in an artificial state of make-believe, chaos and doubt. Gibson’s Cyberpunk novel Neuromancer (1984) is an apt example of such kind of chaos, fragmentation, doubt and artificiality that pervades in our society. Neuromancer is a depiction of reality/artifice and natural/unnatural. It is a prophetic discourse of our own not too distant future. This study aims to depict that how Neuromancer represents the artificial and synthetic world of our times. The study is based upon a Postmodernist stance of Ecocide that aspires to signify the depiction of today’s world in the Cyberpunk literature through the novel Neuromancer. Thereof, it equally aims to highlight the significance of Cyberpunk as a Postmodernist genre of literature that is representative of the contemporary society.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.

There's An App For That!

If you like the show NCIS (I have to admit that I do think Mark Harmon is eye candy as well as a good actor and I loved David McCallum as Ilya Kuryakin oh so many years ago on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) you might like the NCIS app, which allows you to play along with Gibbs, Ducky, and the rest of the team as they solve crimes. The app lets you discovers evidence for example--it gives you hints along the way, and characters from the show give you encouragement or suggest you're falling down on the job depending on how long it takes you to solve various stages of the game. I've played the game a little, and found it entertaining, but a little challenging. You have to have good eyesight, and apply some critical thinking. The app is available for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. More here.

Understanding Privacy

I am very happy to announce the publication of my new book, UNDERSTANDING PRIVACY (Harvard University Press, May 2008). There has been a longstanding struggle to understand what "privacy" means and why it is valuable. Professor Arthur Miller once wrote that privacy is "exasperatingly vague and evanescent." In this book, I aim to develop a clear and accessible theory of privacy, one that will provide useful guidance for law and policy. From the book jacket:

Privacy is one of the most important concepts of our time, yet it is also one of the most elusive. As rapidly changing technology makes information more and more available, scholars, activists, and policymakers have struggled to define privacy, with many conceding that the task is virtually impossible.

In this concise and lucid book, Daniel J. Solove offers a comprehensive overview of the difficulties involved in discussions of privacy and ultimately provides a provocative resolution. He argues that no single definition can be workable, but rather that there are multiple forms of privacy, related to one another by family resemblances. His theory bridges cultural differences and addresses historical changes in views on privacy. Drawing on a broad array of interdisciplinary sources, Solove sets forth a framework for understanding privacy that provides clear, practical guidance for engaging with relevant issues.

Understanding Privacy will be an essential introduction to long-standing debates and an invaluable resource for crafting laws and policies about surveillance, data mining, identity theft, state involvement in reproductive and marital decisions, and other pressing contemporary matters concerning privacy.

Here's a brief summary of Understanding Privacy. Chapter 1 (available on SSRN) introduces the basic ideas of the book. Chapter 2 builds upon my article Conceptualizing Privacy, 90 Cal. L. Rev. 1087 (2002), surveying and critiquing existing theories of privacy. Chapter 3 contains an extensive discussion (mostly new material) explaining why I chose the approach toward theorizing privacy that I did, and why I rejected many other potential alternatives. It examines how a theory of privacy should account for cultural and historical variation yet avoid being too local in perspective. This chapter also explores why a theory of privacy should avoid being too general or too contextual. I draw significantly from historical examples to illustrate my points. I also discuss why a theory of privacy shouldn't focus on the nature of the information, the individual's preferences, or reasonable expectations of privacy. Chapter 4 consists of new material discussing the value of privacy. Chapter 5 builds on my article, A Taxonomy of Privacy, 154 U. Pa. L.. Rev. 477 (2006). I've updated the taxonomy in the book, and I've added a lot of new material about how my theory of privacy interfaces not only with US law, but with the privacy law of many other countries. Finally, Chapter 6 consists of new material exploring the consequences and applications of my theory and examining the nature of privacy harms.

Understanding Privacy is much broader than The Digital Person and The Future of Reputation. Whereas these other two books examined specific privacy problems, Understanding Privacy is a general theory of privacy, and I hope it will be relevant and useful in a wide range of issues and debates.

For more information about the book, please visit its website.