Publisher's Synopsis
Surveillance: A Reference Handbook offers a comprehensive examination of surveillance in an objective and unbiased manner and provides valuable data and documents to guide the reader to further research on the subject.
Surveillance: A Reference Handbook examines the practice of surveillance in the United States and beyond, showing how technology has changed our expectations of what is to be kept private. It begins with a history of surveillance and the reasons for it, which contextualizes surveillance in American and international history. It also delves into the problems and controversies that have arisen with surveillance in the digital age, such as the Patriot Act and wiretapping incidences, as well as both proven and proposed solutions devised in order to respect constitutional liberties.
Five chapters follow, in addition to a glossary and index. The perspectives chapter comprises ten original essay contributions, which are followed by profiles of the leading actors and organizations in surveillance policy. The data and documents chapter presents governmental data and excerpts of primary documents on the topic, and the resources chapter provides an annotated list of the key books, scholarly journals, and non-print sources on the topic. The volume closes with a detailed chronology of major events concerning surveillance.
- Guides readers toward a better understanding of the complexity of surveillance, highlighting pros and cons of the practice
- Discusses attempts to solve problems concerning surveillance and how those changed and expanded over time
- Makes a comprehensive but objective review of scholarly books and articles on the topic
- Showcases a diversity of opinions on the topic of surveillance in a perspectives chapter
