About the book
Locked away in refrigerated vaults, sanitized by gas chambers, and secured within bombproof caverns deep under mountains are America’s most prized materials: the ever-expanding collection of records that now accompany each of us from birth to death. This data complex backs up and protects our most vital information against decay and destruction, and yet it binds us to corporate and government institutions whose power is also preserved in its bunkers, infrastructures, and sterilized spaces.
We the Dead traces the emergence of the data complex in the early twentieth century and guides readers through its expansion in a series of moments when Americans thought they were living just before the end of the world. Depression-era eugenicists feared racial contamination and the downfall of the white American family, while contemporary technologists seek ever denser and more durable materials for storing data, from microetched metal discs to cryptocurrency keys encoded in synthetic DNA. Artfully written and packed with provocative ideas, this haunting book illuminates the dark places of the data complex and the ways it increasingly blurs the lines between human and machine, biological body and data body, life and digital afterlife.
Editions of We the Dead
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9781469668284
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781469696157
- EBook
- ISBN 9781469668314
- EBook
- ISBN 9798890856852
- EBook
- ISBN 9781469668307
- PDF
- ISBN 9798890856845
Read an Excerpt
Locked away in refrigerated vaults, sanitized by gas chambers, and secured within bombproof caverns deep under mountains are America’s most prized materials: the ever-expanding collection of records that now accompany each of us from birth to death. This data complex backs up and protects our most vital information against decay and destruction, and yet it binds us to corporate and government institutions whose power is also preserved in its bunkers, infrastructures, and sterilized spaces.
We the Dead traces the emergence of the data complex in the early twentieth century and guides readers through its expansion in a series of moments when Americans thought they were living just before the end of the world. Depression-era eugenicists feared racial contamination and the downfall of the white American family, while contemporary technologists seek ever denser and more durable materials for storing data, from microetched metal discs to cryptocurrency keys encoded in synthetic DNA. Artfully written and packed with provocative ideas, this haunting book illuminates the dark places of the data complex and the ways it increasingly blurs the lines between human and machine, biological body and data body, life and digital afterlife.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is We the Dead about?
Locked away in refrigerated vaults, sanitized by gas chambers, and secured within bombproof caverns deep under mountains are America’s most prized materials: the ever-expanding collection of records that now accompany each of us from birth to death. This data complex backs up and protects our most vital information against decay and destruction, and yet it binds us to corporate and government institutions whose power is also preserved in its bunkers, infrastructures, and sterilized spaces.
We the Dead traces the emergence of the data complex in the early twentieth century and guides readers through its expansion in a series of moments when Americans thought they were living just before the end of the world. Depression-era eugenicists feared racial contamination and the downfall of the white American family, while contemporary technologists seek ever denser and more durable materials for storing data, from microetched metal discs to cryptocurrency keys encoded in synthetic DNA. Artfully written and packed with provocative ideas, this haunting book illuminates the dark places of the data complex and the ways it increasingly blurs the lines between human and machine, biological body and data body, life and digital afterlife.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in We the Dead?
Society and Social Sciences > Society and culture: general > Cultural and media studies > Media studies
Where can I read a sample of We the Dead?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781469668284
How long is We the Dead and how many pages does it have?
We the Dead has 328 page(s)
Who is/are the Author/s of the book We the Dead?
Brian Michael Murphy
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
We the Dead is available as hardcover(ISBN 9781469668284) and paperback(ISBN 9781469696157) and ebook(ISBN 9781469668314) and ebook(ISBN 9798890856852) and ebook(ISBN 9781469668307) and pdf(ISBN 9798890856845)
Where can I buy We the Dead online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy We the Dead from below
Where can I buy We the Dead?