Understanding Totalitarianism: Surveillance, Trust, and
School
McGill University**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
ENGL 388
Subject
Arts & Humanities
Date
Dec 10, 2024
Pages
6
Uploaded by MasterGuineaPig4876
1-29-24 Lecture1.Betrayal, coercion and trust2.Archivesa.Power involved in archives b/c of role of archivist and what is/is not included3.Lustrationa.Vetting of public officials who might have once been part of despotic regimesb.public/civil methods of lustration4.My Life as a Spya.Totalitarianismi.Contested termii.Martin Malia: not that regime has total control, but they aspire toiii.Other terms: welfare dictatorship, post-totalitarian bureaucraticdictatorship, participatory dictatorshipiv.Despite oppression of certain regimes, must keep in mind there are alwaysavenues for resistanceb.Genrei.Autobiography and memoir1.Autobiography more broad, intends to capture life2.Memoir more specific, aims to capture period of time/theme of thateraa.Potentially less “historical”c.Aimi.“...aims to create a feeling for what it was like to live as a guest in one ofthe most repressive countries of the Eastern bloc”5.Ethnographya.Data collection through observation + interviews, filming, photographing,formal/informal discussion to eventually draw sociological conclusions6.Literary Imitation exercisea.To establish a profile of the American student, we request that you keep thefollowing aspects in mind:i.The times he goes to and from lecture each dayii.Who he engages with during the course of lectureiii.What materials he is seen engaging with (books, articles, etc.)iv.Content of ideas expressed during lecturev.If he visits the library, what materials he engages with7.Presentation chapter 2a.Looking–glass selfb.Summaryi.Returns to Romania, stays in hotels instead of w/ host families
1.Falls under surveillance b/c of Securitate’s new TEO technology(bugging)c.Themesi.watcher/watchedii.Identity as reflection of those around you1-31-24 Lecture1.Features of totalitarian surveillancea.Compilation of files and dossiersi.Not always innocuous, can be used for violence2.Bureaucracya.“Rule by writing desk”b.Max Weber: management of modern office based upon written documents (files).Therefore, staff of subaltern officials and scribes. Body of officials activelyengaged in a “public office,” along with the respective apparatus of materialimplements and the files, makes up a bureauc.Surveillance ← bureaucracy ← files3.“Enemy of the state”a.In communist context, concept originated in Cheka, the ExtraordinaryCommission to Combat Counterrevolution and Sabotage in 1917i.Assigned to haunt dissidents and opponentsb.Surveillance and, by default, dossier/file creation is linked to targeting ‘enemies’of some sort4.Terrora.Fear, perhaps extreme fearb.More often than not connected with the state level, top down affecting of terror5.Doppelgängera.“Evil twin” in Germanb.Many doubles assigned to Verderyi.Folklorist spying for militaryii.Vera spying for the Hungarian diaspora in the United States6.Presentation Toni Weller7.Keywordsa.Securitateb.Memoirc.Bureaucracyd.Enemy of the statee.Self-surveillancef.Totalitarianismg.Doppelganger
h.Lustrationi.informers2-5-24 Lecture1.Part 1: Historical Background, terms, and conceptsa.Historical backgroundi.Yalta conference (1945)1.FDR, Churchill, Stalin convene to figure out postwar plans forGermany and Europeii.East Germany1.In late 1960s, East Germany moved into “post-Stalinist” phasea.Less overt methods of terror for control2.Presentation (The File Ch. 4-7)a.Role of informersi.Huge amount of informers1.Many times greater # of informers than Gestapoii.Motivations1.Personal vendettas2.Communist belief/loyalty3.Pen pal informers4.Blackmail/fearb.Psychological impact on informers/surveilledi.Initial denial of involvement1.Psychological safeguardingc.Historical justice and self-reflectioni.Accountability/recognition of moral violationsii.Holistic view of Stasi rather than individual blame2-7-24 Lecture1.Keywordsa.The fileb.IMs and their recruitmentc.Stasid.Zersetzunge.Totalitarianism, terror + GDRf.Autobiography, memory, identity2.Stalinist → post-Stalinist eraa.Torture → psychologically motivated terrorb.20th century return to state torture (Einolf 2007)3.Zersetzung
4.German for decomposition or disruptiona.Psychological warfare intended to destroy self-confidence of personi.Paralysis of human confidence through intimidation1.Gaslighting5.Presentation The File Ch. 13-15a.Discussing next stepsi.Once regimes end, cold war ends2-12-24 Lecture1.Dystopiaa.Marx, Nietzsche, Freud all pessimistic about futureb.Definition:i.Imagined world that is frightening, unfair, and wherein people livingfearful lives and in a dehumanized mannerii.Novel is dystopian when it allows reader to draw connections/parallels tosociety in which one lives1.Transfer and apply critical thinkingc.Response to terror of historyi.Expression of anxiety of world (20th century) filled w/ destruction, war,disease, etc.2.Utopiaa.Definition (Lyman Tower Sargent)i.Non-existent society that author describes as better than the current one inwhich one livesb.Anti-utopiai.Nonexistent society that author describes that aims to be critique of someutopia3.Zamyatin’sWea.Anti-totalitarian novelb.References real world tendencies of post-revolution Soviet Unioni.Perils of pursuing Soviet utopian project1.One-state totalitarian societyc.Key themesi.Lack of freedom and its safety and the will to live freeii.Lonelinessiii.Rational vs. irrationaliv.Absurdity and dehumanization of society through rationalizationv.Religious connotationsd.Context
i.Explores consequences on humanity of scientifically managed collectivistutopiaii.Critique of Soviet totalitarianism and the rise of modern industrial society1.One State seen as final outcome of society driven mathematicalrationalism and socio-economic dynamics guided by rationalprinciples: automation, standardization, etc.4.Three debatesa.Crystal Palacei.In London, used to showcase technological advancementsii.Representative of enlightenment thought and purpose (reason)1.Drew ire as result (Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground)b.Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor Parablei.Inquisitor tells Christ that humans do not want freedom, they wanthappiness/security (food, shelter, comfort, etc.)c.Adam and Evei.Knowledge of good and evil what corrupts Adam and Eve1.Thus, move from happiness without freedom to freedom withouthappiness2-19-24 Lecture1.19842-21-24 Lecture1.Keywordsa.Doublethinkb.Thoughtcrimec.Big Brotherd.Memory holee.Newspeakf.Plot of 1984g.Resistance and relationships3-18-24 Lecture1.Capitalisma.System based on institutions of private property and market, relies on pursuit ofprivate profit as driving force2.Keywords3-20-24 Lecture1.Keywords
a.Invisible hand/capitalismb.Intersectionalityc.Discussing capitalism normativelyd.Endurance of capitalisme.Discuss how/why capitalism is unjust system3-25-24 Lecture1.Instrumentarianisma.Powerb.Instead of armaments and armies, it works its will through the automated mediumof an increasingly ubiquitous computational architecture of “smart” networkeddevices, things, and spaces4-3-24 Lecture1.Access vs control theories of privacya.Accessi.Loss of privacy occurs when information/space becomes accessible toparties that should not have access to such informationb.Controli.Loss of privacy occurs when one loses information privacy should haveprotected (?)2.Information societies → “risk societies”a.Societies focused primarily on mitigating risk in all domains3.Surveillance Capitalism Ch.24.Termsa.Sousveillanceb.Privacy concerns under surveillance capitalismc.Risk societiesd.control/access theories of surveillance4-8-24 Lecture1.