Fiction « Solomon Asch Center

Beyond terrorist attacks: the impact of jihadist non-state actors on foreign policy December 17, 2024 Addison K. Emig Michael J. Schumacher a Department of Political Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville ,USAb Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, USA
The radical Westernization of the European far right and the role of the Organisation Armée Secrète during the Algerian War December 15, 2024 Nicola Guerra Faculty of Humanities, Italian Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
Emotion and white-power music December 14, 2024 Jonathan Pieslak Music Department, The City College of New York and Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, NY, USA
Linguistic models of abusive language November 5, 2024 Christian Leuprecht David B. Skillicorn David Kernot a Royal Military College of Canada, Queen’s University & Charles Sturt University, Edinburgh, Australiab Queen’s University, Edinburgh, Australiac Defence Science and Technology, Edinburgh, Australia
The paradox of violent leaders and organizational structures October 4, 2024 Michael Freeman Victor Asal Gina Ligon a Defense Analysis, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, USAb Political Science, University at Albany - Downtown Campus, Albany, NY, USAc University of Nebraska Omaha - National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE), Omaha, NE, USA

Unmanned Vehicles in Fiction: “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

In the pilot episode of Marvel’s new TV show, the protagonists use a fleet of mini-quadrotors to inspect and map a crime scene. While the miniaturization and capabilities shown are beyond current technology, the idea of using unmanned vehicles to map crime or disaster scenes is not.

Elysium (2013)

In Blomkamp’s Science Fiction parable of economic inequality, unmanned vehicles of all kinds are used to control, police, and oppress the protagonist and others. The most common use of unmanned vehicles in fiction has been – like this film – as tools of the antagonists and obstacles.

“Watchbird” by Robert Sheckley, 1953

An early vision of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, used in-story to prevent murder across the country. The story posits a great success for that original goal, but raises questions about unintended consequences, the wisdom of autonomous decision-making, and perhaps (allegorically) scope creep.

Published by the University of Texas Press the book features 100 of Hyman's photographs and six critical essays that depict and discuss the emotional aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks -- a time when people from all walks of life created and encountered memorials to those who were murdered. Vernacular art appeared almost everywhere—on walls, trees, playgrounds, vehicles, houses, tombstones, and even on bodies. This outpouring of grief and other acts of remembrance impelled photographer Jonathan Hyman to document and preserve these largely impermanent, spontaneous expressions. This book, a unique archive of 9/11 public memory, is the result of his compiling a collection of 20,000 photographs, along with field notes and personal interviews. For more information about the book or to purchase it, visit the book's page at Amazon or Facebook.

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Unmanned Vehicles in Fiction: “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Elysium (2013)

“Watchbird” by Robert Sheckley, 1953

New book by Asch Associate Director for Conflict and Visual Culture Jonathan Hyman: “The Landscapes of 9/11: A photographer’s Journey”