Unmanning
How Humans, Machines and Media Perform Drone Warfare
By Katherine Chandler | Publisher: Rutgers University Press
About the book
Unmanning studies the conditions that create unmanned platforms in the United States through a genealogy of experimental, pilotless planes flown between 1936 and 1992. Characteristics often attributed to the drone—including machine-like control, enmity and remoteness—are achieved by displacements between humans and machines that shape a mediated theater of war. Rather than primarily treating the drone as a result of the war on terror, this book examines contemporary targeted killing through a series of failed experiments to develop unmanned flight in the twentieth century. The human, machine and media parts of drone aircraft are organized to make an ostensibly not human framework for war that disavows its political underpinnings as technological advance. These experiments are tied to histories of global control, cybernetics, racism and colonialism. Drone crashes and failures call attention to the significance of human action in making technopolitics that comes to be opposed to “man” and the paradoxes at their basis.
Editions of Unmanning
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781978809741
- EBook
- ISBN 9781978809765
- PDF
- ISBN 9781978809789
Read an Excerpt
Unmanning studies the conditions that create unmanned platforms in the United States through a genealogy of experimental, pilotless planes flown between 1936 and 1992. Characteristics often attributed to the drone—including machine-like control, enmity and remoteness—are achieved by displacements between humans and machines that shape a mediated theater of war. Rather than primarily treating the drone as a result of the war on terror, this book examines contemporary targeted killing through a series of failed experiments to develop unmanned flight in the twentieth century. The human, machine and media parts of drone aircraft are organized to make an ostensibly not human framework for war that disavows its political underpinnings as technological advance. These experiments are tied to histories of global control, cybernetics, racism and colonialism. Drone crashes and failures call attention to the significance of human action in making technopolitics that comes to be opposed to “man” and the paradoxes at their basis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Unmanning about?
Unmanning studies the conditions that create unmanned platforms in the United States through a genealogy of experimental, pilotless planes flown between 1936 and 1992. Characteristics often attributed to the drone—including machine-like control, enmity and remoteness—are achieved by displacements between humans and machines that shape a mediated theater of war. Rather than primarily treating the drone as a result of the war on terror, this book examines contemporary targeted killing through a series of failed experiments to develop unmanned flight in the twentieth century. The human, machine and media parts of drone aircraft are organized to make an ostensibly not human framework for war that disavows its political underpinnings as technological advance. These experiments are tied to histories of global control, cybernetics, racism and colonialism. Drone crashes and failures call attention to the significance of human action in making technopolitics that comes to be opposed to “man” and the paradoxes at their basis.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Unmanning?
Society and Social Sciences > Warfare and defence > Weapons and equipment
Where can I read a sample of Unmanning?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781978809741
Is Unmanning part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series War Culture
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Unmanning?
Katherine Chandler
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Unmanning is available as paperback(ISBN 9781978809741) and ebook(ISBN 9781978809765) and pdf(ISBN 9781978809789)
Where can I buy Unmanning online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Unmanning from below
Where can I buy Unmanning?