Blog Prompt 10: The Politics of Peering

By 9 pm on November 16, please post a 600-word response to the following prompt:

In "Fetal Exposures: Abortion Politics and Optics of Allusion," Valerie Hartouni writes, "technologies themselves do not peer; they are instruments and relations that facilitate or obstruct, but above all, contruct 'peering'...likewise 'peering' is not itself a benign, impartial, disinterested, or disembodied activity, but is both mediated and situated within interpretive frameworks, points of view, and sets of purposes" (Hartouni 211). How does this argument relate to the various medical, military, and/or popular imaging technologies that we've discussed in class? Name and analyze 1-2 specific example/s.

Topics you might consider: fetal photography, sonograms, aerial reconnaissance photography, maps, surveillance cameras, visual inspections at airports, asylum law, film (narrative, documentary, etc.), chicana feminist art, dance, lynching photography, postcards, and digital photography at Abu Ghraib.