Die Buribunken as science fiction: the self and informational existence

This paper takes Die Buribunken seriously as good science fiction. It is argued that it is good science fiction as it provides tropes, images and narratives through which the technological present and possible futures can be comprehended. Specifically, the Buribunks who confidently archive the self,...

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Published inGriffith law review Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 118 - 136
Main Author Tranter, Kieran
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 03.04.2019
Subjects
1888-1985
Electronic surveillance
Liberalism
Literature
Schmitt, Carl
Schmitt, Carl, 1888-1985
Science fiction
Storytelling
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Summary:This paper takes Die Buribunken seriously as good science fiction. It is argued that it is good science fiction as it provides tropes, images and narratives through which the technological present and possible futures can be comprehended. Specifically, the Buribunks who confidently archive the self, present as a cypher for informational existence. Through learning about the Buribunks’ institutional organisation and deep motivations the various ways that the self becomes recorded in the digital can be mapped. However, the present is not Buribunkian, the self and its datadoubles are fragmented and conflicted, generated by surveillance, the data serfdom of worker-nodes, curatorial social media practices and ‘dark’ activities that try to hide personal responsibility. Nevertheless, the Buribunks drive to master the archive, encapsulates a tendency in the digital towards correspondence and unity within data repositories of the self.
Bibliography:GRIFFITH LAW REVIEW, Vol. 28, No. 2, Jun 2019, 118-136
Informit, Melbourne (Vic)
ISSN:1038-3441
1839-4205
DOI:10.1080/10383441.2019.1670607