Syllabus/Calendar: Fall, 2016FSEM 100: Post 9/11 America and the Death of PrivacySection: 34604RUnits: 2Days: Monday, 2:00-3:50 p.m.Room: LVL 3VInstructor: Jonathan KotlerContact Numbers: email: [email protected]; campus phone: (213) 740-9944Office: ASC 202AOffice Hours: Monday , Tuesday: 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.; Wednesday: 9:30 -11:30 a.m.And by appointment.Introduction:There is a lot of talk about privacy in America today—as would befit the country that invented the concept of personal privacy as a protectable right—and yet, it seems, the more we talk about it, the less we have.Certainly, when measured against the protection of privacy in the developed world—and the European Union particularly—we don’t have much.How come? The answer to this question will be the focus of this seminar, and, hopefully, by the time we have concluded, you’ll realize the truth in the words of cartoonist Walt Kelly’s furry comic strip character Pogo (the possum), who, famously said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”Think not?1O.K. How many of you have disabled the GPS devices on your smart phones? Or the cookies onyour computer? Or did not click “I agree” or “I accept” the last time you downloaded a new piece of software or a new app?And the tragedy that was 9/11 only exacerbated this process.In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the United States, the American people wanted assurances that our government was doing everything possible to make us safe and in doing so, would prevent a repeat of what had happened that awful Indian summer morning early in a new century that began with so much promise for the future. Forget, for the moment, that absolute protection against terrorism is impossible…………just ask Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, the Archduke Ferdinand, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan or, more recently, innocent moviegoers in Colorado and Louisiana, or vacationers in Tunisia, travelers in Brussels and Istanbul, shoppers in Nairobi, or ordinary folks out for an evening’s entertainment in Paris or Dhaka, people attending a Christmas party in San Bernardino, or schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut, among others. As a result, what we got was not the absolute protection we pleaded for. What we got was the illusion of protection. Case in point: the kabuki-like security theater we engage in before getting on an airplane since 9/11. Yes, we have to take off our shoes at the airport before we fly. And for sure, don’t bring toothpaste of a certain size on the plane with us. (Or, God forbid, a bottle of water, unless purchased AT the airport after we pass through security.) But as recent, and, unfortunately, continual, reports in the press have made clear, the TSA is about as effective at stopping terrorism threats as were Lincoln’s bodyguards. Which is about what you’d expect from folks who, in reality, are really one career move away from instead of asking us to remove our belts would be asking us instead, “You want fries with that?”Security theater.Indeed, immediately following 9/11, when the government security apparatus (along with the corporations who had much to gain from supplying the government) were just gearing up, worried civil libertarians were asking, “How much liberty would you give up in the name of security?” Most Americans, ignoring the words of Benjamin Franklin, replied that they’d give upwhatever was asked of them. “Just make us safe,” they pleaded.Two centuries earlier, Franklin had said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchasea little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”Wise man, that Franklin.2Unfortunately, in the years since 9/11, our government has created what is, in essence, The Surveillance State. British novelist George Orwell had missed it by more than a quarter of a century, but essentially, he got it right.And it will only get worse.For a thirty year period between the late 1940s and late 1970s, Americans in the millions turnedon their televisions to be amused by a hidden camera-reality-comedy show called Candid Camera, which was the brain child of TV pioneer Allen Funt. It’s premise was that you never knew when you’d be caught on camera doing something stupid or embarrassing. Accordingly, its advertising tag line was, “Smile, you’re on Candid Camera.”Which is a close paraphrase to the words that appear on surveillance cameras set up at traffic intersections, department store dressing rooms, and public spaces the length and breadth of this country. And if the omnipresence of surveillance cameras, the stealing of our email, the taking of our telephone metadata, the cataloging of our library records, the hacking into our digital data banks and the use of infrared satellite technology weren’t enough of an intrusion upon what we used to call “our privacy,” well, welcome to the Age of the Drone.So, why am I not smiling? And more to the point, why are you?Thus, as we begin this semester’s survey of the state of privacy today, chew on this one: Is there any fact about you—anything at all—that couldn’t be found out by someone—government, terrorist, tech company or lone hacker—using today’s readily available technology? If you’ve answered in the negative, either you’re kidding yourself or the “fact” in question just isn’t that important, which means, in the private sphere at least, that the disclosure of it cannot be made profitable by others.Calendar:August 22: Course introduction and short history of privacy as a protectable rightAugust 29: Surprise video (I’ll bet you’ve never seen this!)September 5: Labor Day; no classSeptember 12: No class3September 19: The Surveillance State; Are we there yet?September 26: No ClassOctober 3: What Happens in Las Vegas, Stays In Las VegasOctober 10: National Security: The fallback justification for invasion of privacyOctober 10: From the Folks Who Brought You Two World Wars: The Erasure of the PastOctober 17: Fame, Politics and PrivacyOctober 24: Going to court: privacy litigationOctober 31: No ClassNovember 9: Trial by Social Media, or Cecil’s RevengeNovember 16: Discussion of Student Essays; Seminar Roundup and SummaryCourse Requirements/Class Format:For most, if not all of you, this course is an “add on,” signed up for in addition to your “regular” or required courses, taken because of a specific interest, or in