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17.3: Photographic Origins of Mugshots and Facial Recognition - Classroom Activity

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    248582
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    Introduction

    Today's discussion is centered around helping us consider the ways in which our physical identity, especially a detail of our face or its entirety, is already used or could be used to gather data and justify drawing conclusions about who we are as people.

    contour line drawings of numerous faces in profile with different nose shapes Color illustration of caucasian face in profile with colored areas across cranium labeled with diffferent human characteristics

    "File:Essais d'autographie- Essai de physiognomie MET DP242863.jpg" by Rodolphe Töpffer is marked with CC0 1.0. "Phrenology head from The Household Physician, 1905" by crackdog is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

    Reflect and Connect

    • On a spectrum like the one below (which you may copy or draw for yourself), fill it in with at least four ways in which you know or can imagine your own face being used to gather data or make assumptions about who you are as a whole person (ex: facial recognition on your personal electronic device(s), facial recognition by law enforcement, etc.)
    • After you fill yours out, talk to two other classmates and compare your spectrum with theirs.
      • How do yours and theirs compare?
      • Did any of your classmates think of contexts that you hadn’t yet considered?

    horizontal line with an arrow pointing to the left and an arrow pointing to the right

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    This page titled 17.3: Photographic Origins of Mugshots and Facial Recognition - Classroom Activity is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Erica McCormack and Jack Lindsay.