Handbook Privacy Studies ― An Interdisciplinary Introduction

The exploding use of information technology gives rise to privacy issues that call for interdisciplinary studies in order to be understood. Currently, only disciplinary privacy handbooks exist. This book offers a first interdisciplinary introduction to fifteen scientific approach to privacy, such as law, ethics, informatics, medicine and economics. Privacy is a broad and elusive concept that has been approached from multiple perspectives and academic disciplines. While these disciplines have so far remained fairly independent, modern privacy issues such as those following from electronic patient files, mass surveillance, behavioral targeting and smart cities, call for interdisciplinary cooperation in order to understand and critically reflect on them.Researchers worldwide are increasingly working together towards this goal. To translate this approach to an academic educational setting, this book offers an introduction to, and overview of scholarly domains involved with privacy studies. Each chapter will discuss a prominent disciplinary approach to privacy. A list of further reading will be provided for teachers and students who want to learn more about a certain discipline. The introduction and conclusion to the book link the texts and provide the reader with an analysis of the most important similarities and differences between the various disciplinary approaches.