Game Changer? On the Epistemology, Ontology, and Politics of Drones

Remote-controlled drones are not only used today as toys, flying cameras, or for pizza deliveries, but also to hoover up data and kill so-called counter-insurgents. High-tech companies are seeking to revolutionise transportation with them or are working on the dream (or nightmare) of making the all-seeing, mobile eye a reality. Drones distribute poems in the sky, redesign advertisements or work as selfie-drones. Their outlines are painted on pavements as a warning, but above all they are deployed as ubiquitous weapons in the fight against terrorism. In war they are frequently considered “the only game in town”.

But what makes the drone a “game changer”? How is the code / space of drones configured and what does the new technology of drones mean not only for the reconfiguration of war, but for everyday life?

We will examine these questions in more detail in the seminar. Live drone flying is planned within the course.

Mandatory literature:

1. Krasmann, Susanne and Weber, Jutta: Editorial. In: Game Changer? On the Epistemology, Ontology, and Politics of Drones, edited by Susanne Krasmann and Jutta Weber, Vol. 8, No. 2, (2015), p.3-11. https://ojs.ub.uni-freiburg.de/behemoth/issue/view/74

2. Mushkin, Hillary: The Disposition of Drones. At the U.S. Army’s drone training facility, a team of artists examines the relations between perception, technology, and power. In: Places Journal, Febr. 2018, https://placesjournal.org/article/the-disposition-of-drones/ 

3. Brady, Sara: God, the Pilot and the Bugsplat: Performance and the Drone Effect I.; https://ojs.ub.uni-freiburg.de/behemoth/article/view/868/830 

 

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Recommended literature:

Josh Begley, A Visual Glossary. Decoding the Language of Covert Warfare. https://theintercept.com/drone-papers/a-visual-glossary/ (last accessed 30.3.2016)

Kristin Bergtora Sandvik, African Drone Stories I.; https://ojs.ub.uni-freiburg.de/behemoth/article/view/870/832 (last accessed 30.3.2016)

Derek Gregory, Drone Geographies, https://geographicalimaginations.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/gregory-drone-geographies.pdf (last accessed 30.3.2016)

Ben Hayes, Chris Jones, and Eric Töpfer, Patrolling Borders: Frontex and Drones, in: Eurodrones Inc., statewatch 2014, (last accessed 30.3.2016) https://www.tni.org/files/download/011453_tni_eurodrones_inc_br_3e.pdf

Rob Kitchin & Martin Dodge (2005): Code and the Transduction of Space, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 95:1, 162-180

John Law, ‘Making a Mess with Method, version of 19th January 2006, available at http://www. heterogeneities.net/publications/Law2006MakingaMesswithMethod.pdf

Armin Krishnan, Mass Surveillance, Drones and Unconventional Warfare I.; https://ojs.ub.uni-freiburg.de/behemoth/article/viewFile/867/837 (last accessed 30.3.2016)

Sabine Selchow, The Drones of Others: An Insight into the Imagination of UAVs in Germany; https://ojs.ub.uni-freiburg.de/behemoth/article/view/869/831 (last accessed 30.3.2016)

Stephanie Rosenbloom, The Selfie-Drone: Invasion of the Vacation Snatchers, New York Times, 6.9.2015 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/travel/selfie-camera-drones.html?_r=0 (last accessed 30.3.2016)

Josh Begley: https://www.wired.com/2012/08/drone-app/

James Bridle: https://www.jamesbridle.com/works/drone-shadow-007

Omer Fast: 5,000 feet is the best https://vimeo.com/34050994

Anne Imhof: Live Performance with Drones: Angst https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjVGOLmWmRw

http://www.dronestagr.am/

Attendance is mandatory. Attendance will be registered on a sign-in sheet. Certificates are acquired through attendance, participation in class discussions and delivery of a reading response, to be developed between meetings May 3/4 and May 9/11.

Mandatory literature:

1. Krasmann, Susanne and Weber, Jutta: Editorial. In: Game Changer? On the Epistemology, Ontology, and Politics of Drones, edited by Susanne Krasmann and Jutta Weber, Vol. 8, No. 2, (2015), p.3-11. https://ojs.ub.uni-freiburg.de/behemoth/issue/view/74

2. Mushkin, Hillary: The Disposition of Drones. At the U.S. Army’s drone training facility, a team of artists examines the relations between perception, technology, and power. In: Places Journal, Febr. 2018, https://placesjournal.org/article/the-disposition-of-drones/ 

3. Brady, Sara: God, the Pilot and the Bugsplat: Performance and the Drone Effect I.; https://ojs.ub.uni-freiburg.de/behemoth/article/view/868/830