Biometrics: Bodies, Technologies, Biopolitics (Routledge Studies in Science, Technology and Society)

By: Joseph Pugliese

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis: Biometric technologies, such as finger- or facial-scan, are being deployed across a variety of social contexts in order to facilitate and guarantee identity verification and authentication. In the post-9/11 world, biometric technologies have experienced an extraordinary period of growth as concerns about security and screening have increased. This book analyses biometric systems in terms of the application of biopolitical power – corporate, military and governmental – on the human body. It deploys cultural theory in examining the manner in which biometric technologies constitute the body as a target of surveillance and as a data-information object. The book thereby provides a comprehensive overview and critical analysis of both the local and global ramifications of biometric technologies.