University of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607-7113, (312) 996-3456, www.uic.edu/depts/paff

October 10, 2001

Contact: Anne Dybek (312) 996-8279; adybek@uic.edu

CONFERENCE TO EXPLORE VULNERABILITY IN DAILY LIFE

"The Vulnerable Citizen: Surveillance and Privacy in Everyday Life," will be the focus of a conference Oct. 19-20 at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The two-day public event, to be held in Meeting Rooms A, B and C of UIC's Student Services Building, 1200 W. Harrison St., will examine the perceptions of vulnerability in everyday life in the United States.

Discussion topics will include the paradoxical role of the state as regulator and guardian, voyeurism and confessionalism, technologies of surveillance (including profiling), home and workplace monitoring and the use of space to regulate movement, time and desire.

"The aim of this conference is to explore the tension between perceptions of vulnerability in everyday life and the invasiveness of modern technologies of surveillance," said Sonya Michel, professor and director of the UIC department of gender and women's studies. "When we began planning the conference last winter, we were more focused on the dangers of surveillance rather than of terrorism. Now, of course, the balance has been dramatically reversed. But the issues we raised are even more relevant than before. The discussions will obviously take on a new urgency."

Major sessions and panel discussions include:

The conference, sponsored by the Institute for the Humanities, the Medical Humanities Program, the Chicago Seminar, and the Gender and Women's Studies Program at UIC, is free and open to the public.

A full agenda, complete list of presenters and registration information are available online or by calling (312) 996-6352.

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