Privacy in the U.S. and Europe, Part I
7th Social Research Conference October 5-7, 2000
The distinction between what is public and what is private is becoming more and more blurred with the increasing intrusiveness of the media and advances in electronic technology. Although this distinction is always the outcome of continuous cultural negotiation, it continues to be critical. For where nothing is private, democracy becomes impossible. How much of what is currently considered private are we willing to make public in the name of openness and convenience? This conference will look back at the historical foundations of privacy and forward to what the future may have in store.
This conference is funded by grants from Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ford Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation
To order the related issue of Social Research: An International Quarterly
PROGRAM
Thursday, October 5 I. Private/Public: The Evolution of the Distinction
The emergence of private, domestic spaces fosters distinctions between inside and outside, family and stranger, women (inside) and men (outside), which are mirrored in the history of art, literature, and film in this culture and others. Moderator: David Bromwich, Housum Professor of English, Yale University The Language of Privacy John Hollander, Sterling Professor of English, Yale University The Household and Public Life: Private Spaces–Public Places; Men-Women Joseph Rykwert, Paul Philippe Cret Professor of Architecture Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania Representations of the Private in Art, Film and Literature Frederick Wiseman, independent documentary film maker and General Manager, Zipporah Films, Inc.
II. Privacy and the Law: The Legal Construction of Privacy
The concept of privacy has a legal history, which is influenced by ongoing political discourse and technological change. Moderator: Frederick Schauer, Academic Dean and Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University The History David J. Garrow, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law Private Property: Material, Intellectual, Virtual; Is My Body My Property? David A.J. Richards, Edwin D. Webb Professor of Law and Director, Program for Study of Law, Philosophy and Social Theory, New York University School of Law The Internet and the Protection of Privacy: Developing Legislation, National and International Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
III. Keynote Address: Threats to Privacy
Charles Nesson, William F. Weld Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; Director, The Berkman Center for Internet & Society
Friday, October 6
IV. Privacy and the Self: The Rise and Fall of Privacy
The development of the concept of self parallels the development of the concept of privacy, which is now threatened by the ebbing of the desire for intimacy and by the increased ease of access to personal information. Moderator: Louis Menand, Professor of English, Graduate Center of CUNY Sexuality, Shame, and Intimacy Ruth Bernard Yeazell, Chace Family Professor of English, Yale University How Publicity Makes People Real David Bromwich, Housum Professor of English, Yale University Confessional Literature: Disclosures of Self Nancy K. Miller, Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Graduate Center of CUNY
V. Invasions of Privacy: Violations of Boundaries
Technological changes increase ease of access to information, which influences where boundaries are. As these boundaries change, what constitutes their transgression also changes. Moderator: George Kateb, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics and Director, Program in Political Philosophy, Princeton UniversitySecuring Privacy in an Electronic Age Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law, Stanford Law School Privacy and Public Life Jeffrey Rosen, Associate Professor, The George Washington University Law School Privacy and the Freedom of Expression Frederick Schauer, Academic Dean and Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Saturday, October 7
VI. Privacy and the State
The valorization of private life is central to democracy, while its destruction lies at the core of totalitarianism. With the erosion of privacy by mass culture, loneliness replaces solitude. Moderator: Jean Cohen, Professor of Political Science, Columbia University
Totalitarianism Fatos Lubonja, Writer and Editor-in-Chief, Perpjekja (Endeavor) Privacy in a Decent Society Avishai Margalit, Professor of Philosophy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Politics of Privacy George Kateb, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics and Director, Program in Political Philosophy, Princeton University
VII. Is Privacy Now Possible? A Round Table Discussion
Moderator: Kenneth Prewitt, Director, United States Census Bureau
Anita L. Allen Casttellito, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania School of Law Jerry Berman, Executive Director, Center for Democracy and Technology Jean Cohen, Professor of Political Science, Columbia University Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law, Stanford University Theresa McGovern, Columbia University School of Public Policy Philip R. Reitinger, Deputy Director, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS), Department of Justice Jeffrey Rosen, Associate Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Maggie Scarf, Journalist and Author, Yale University
RELATED EVENTS AT THE NEW SCHOOL
Public Policy and the Internet Monday, October 2 Lecture and discussion. Moderated by Peter Haratonik, Senior Fellow at the Rose and Edwin Wolfson Center for National Affairs. Panelists include James Demsey, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology; U.S. Rep. Carolyn Mahoney (D-NY), member of the Congressional Internet Caucus; Norman Siegel, Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union; and Mark Stahman, Founder and President of the New York Media Association.
Private Faces/Public Places Friday, October 6
Swayduck Auditorium. A reading of poetry and prose, curated by David Lehman and Robert Polito. Public, Private and the Arts Wednesday, October 18 Coordinated by Judith Mara Guttman, Presented by The Vera List Center for Art and Politics. Joel Connarroe Rochelle Gurstein Sean Wilentz.
Celebrity and Anonymity: The Ambivalence of Privacy Wednesday, November 29, Moderated by Marshall Blonsky, Senior Fellow of the Rose and Edwin Wolfson Center for National Affairs. Leo Braudy, author of Fame Lynn Goldberg, Goldberg McDuffie Communications Joseph Kosuth, artist Lauren Hutton, model and actress RELATED EVENTS AT NYC MUSEUMS
The Private World of Dutch Art Friday, October 6, 6:00 p.m. Uris Center Auditorium of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Walter Liedtke, Curator, Department of European Paintings. Lecture. Free with museum admission.
Private and Public Use of Ritual Objects Saturday, October 7, 2:00 p.m. Museum for African Art. Frank Herreman, Director of Exhibitions. Tour of the exhibition In the Presence of Spirits, with discussion about the initiation and ancestral objects of the Chokwe, Luana, and Ngangela peoples. Free with museum admission.
