Data Empire
A Human History of Records and Rule
Seiten
2026
Torva (Verlag)
978-1-911709-82-4 (ISBN)
Torva (Verlag)
978-1-911709-82-4 (ISBN)
- Noch nicht erschienen (ca. Juli 2026)
- Portofrei ab CHF 40
- Auch auf Rechnung
- Artikel merken
From clay tablets to the algorithmic state, a groundbreaking new lens on human history arguing that information has always been the seed of power. Perfect for readers of Nexus and The Age of Surveillance Capitalism.
Long before writing existed, at the dawn of civilisation in Mesopotamia, rulers pressed marks into clay to keep track of land, people and grain. To rule, they had to keep count. It is no accident, then, that the first written name in human history was neither a god nor a king, but an accountant.
As ships and navigation expanded our horizons, a new age of European empires took control of more than 80 per cent of the world’s surface, using censuses, maps and ledgers to decide who belonged, who owed, and who could be sacrificed. Today, we live in the third great era, when trading our information for access can feel harmless or inevitable – yet from targeted advertising to border policing and mass surveillance, data shapes the course of our lives.
Drawing on stories from ancient cave markings and knotted strings to colonial record-keeping and the algorithmic state, Data Empire reveals how data has always been the seed of power: a technology of control that has shaped civilizations and upheld empires. Provocative, humane and sweeping in scope, it asks us to recognise the power data has always held – and to imagine what resistance looks like in an age defined by it, so that we might remake the modern world for the benefit of all.
Long before writing existed, at the dawn of civilisation in Mesopotamia, rulers pressed marks into clay to keep track of land, people and grain. To rule, they had to keep count. It is no accident, then, that the first written name in human history was neither a god nor a king, but an accountant.
As ships and navigation expanded our horizons, a new age of European empires took control of more than 80 per cent of the world’s surface, using censuses, maps and ledgers to decide who belonged, who owed, and who could be sacrificed. Today, we live in the third great era, when trading our information for access can feel harmless or inevitable – yet from targeted advertising to border policing and mass surveillance, data shapes the course of our lives.
Drawing on stories from ancient cave markings and knotted strings to colonial record-keeping and the algorithmic state, Data Empire reveals how data has always been the seed of power: a technology of control that has shaped civilizations and upheld empires. Provocative, humane and sweeping in scope, it asks us to recognise the power data has always held – and to imagine what resistance looks like in an age defined by it, so that we might remake the modern world for the benefit of all.
Roopika Risam is Associate Professor of Digital Humanities and Social Engagement at Dartmouth. Her research explores how histories of race, empire, and technology shape the modern world. She is the author of New Digital Worlds: Postcolonial Digital Humanities in Theory, Praxis, and Pedagogy, taught in over 150 universities worldwide, and co-editor of four collections, including Anti-Racist Community Engagement and The Digital Black Atlantic. Risam is past president of the Association for Computers and the Humanities, the U.S. scholarly organization for digital research in the humanities.
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 9.7.2026 |
|---|---|
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 153 x 234 mm |
| Gewicht | 700 g |
| Themenwelt | Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Technikgeschichte |
| Informatik ► Datenbanken ► Data Warehouse / Data Mining | |
| ISBN-10 | 1-911709-82-8 / 1911709828 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-911709-82-4 / 9781911709824 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
aus dem Bereich
eine Geschichte der Fehlbarkeit von Mensch und Technologie
Buch | Hardcover (2025)
C.H.Beck (Verlag)
CHF 44,75
Buch | Softcover (2024)
Lehmanns Media (Verlag)
CHF 27,90
von Gutenberg bis zum Smartphone
Buch | Hardcover (2025)
Klett-Cotta (Verlag)
CHF 33,55
