God’s Watchers: Domestic Surveillance and Religious Activism from the Civil War to the War on Terror

Religion, Surveillance

Research Mentor: Dr./Mr. Michael J. McVicar, He/Him
Department, College, Affiliation: Religion, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: mmcvicar@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 3
Relevant Majors: English, History, Political Science, Sociology, Religion, etc.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Not participating in the Roundtable

Project Description

From mega-surveillance on the mind-boggling scale of the National Security Agency’s controversial bulk collection of cellular metadata to the banal head-counting embodied in census records, citizens routinely accept—and, increasingly, resist—state-sponsored oversight. Likewise, business surveillance techniques—whether in the form of frequent-shopper cards that track every purchase, CCTV systems that follow a customer’s every move, or “cookies” that monitor web traffic—are a routine aspect of contemporary life. Far less understood and virtually ignored by scholars of American history and average citizens alike are the surveillance practices of voluntary associations, especially in the expansive private sector of churches, parachurch organizations, patriotic groups, and non-sectarian moral reform organizations with religious connections. Yet, the very state and corporate surveillance systems that most Americans take for granted today have emerged from the nexus of governmental, business, and religious interests that coalesced at the dawn of the twentieth century.

Research Tasks: Primarily, the research assistant will read, summarize, and discuss a number of primary sources related to religion and surveillance in American history. These sources will include Federal Bureau of Investigation files (including material released under the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA]), archival collections, newspapers, microfilmed primary sources available at FSU and through interlibrary loan, electronic databases, and archival collections available in the region. Secondary responsibilities could include filing and managing FOIA requests, digitizing and analyzing the content of primary sources, and reading secondary literature on the history of religion and surveillance in the United States.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: If the student can read, write, and take good notes, they'll be fine.