Oral History of Oscar H. Gandy, Jr. (1944–)
Oral History of Oscar H. Gandy, Jr., recorded in 2019
Oscar H. Gandy, Jr. (1944–), professor emeritus at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, is an influential political economist of communication. Gandy has made significant contributions to the study of privacy, data brokerage, public relations, framing, and the representation of risk. He is the author of four books, including The Panoptic Sort: A Political Economy of Personal Information (1993), a widely celebrated work that—among other things—anticipated Silicon Valley’s business model of surveillance capitalism. In 1987, Gandy joined the faculty of the Annenberg School, where he would remain until his 2006 retirement. He resides with his wife Judith in Tucson, Arizona.
Oscar H. Gandy, Jr., was interviewed by Jefferson Pooley on July 22, 23, and 24, 2019, at Dr. Gandy’s home in Tucson, Arizona.
Session One (July 22, 2019)
In the session Gandy recounts his childhood on Long Island, New York, and his exposure to social science at Nassau Community College. He describes his decision to attend the University of New Mexico, and his work as a research assistant to radical sociologist Harold Meier. He discusses his coursework in sociology and in the psychology of learning, his friendships with anthropologist-students, and his participation in anti-Vietnam War protests. Gandy’s decision to apply to the University of Pennsylvania for a social work master’s is discussed, together with his decision, soon after, to abandon the program. He recounts his move out to Oakland, California, where an unsuccessful stint selling encyclopedias led him back to Philadelphia and a master’s at the Annenberg School for Communication at Penn, as mentored by then-dean George Gerbner. Gandy’s experiences at the Annenberg School, and his concurrent work producing a public affairs TV program, is discussed. The interview continues with Gandy describing his move to the University of California at San Diego, to teach production in the university’s new communication program, and his exposure to Herbert Schiller and others. Gandy recounts his decision to pursue a doctorate at Stanford University, and some of his coursework with economists, radical education scholars, and communication faculty such as Emile McAnany. The interview includes a discussion of Gandy’s dissertation on educational technology and defense, and his post-graduation travels to India and a short, failed stint to work on development in Tanzania. Gandy, to close the session, recounts his postdoc at Annenberg, arranged by Gerbner, before his departure for Howard University.
Download Session One Transcript
Session Two (July 23, 2019)
In the session, Gandy describes his decade of teaching and research at Howard University in Washington, DC. He recounts his major research collaborations with students and faculty colleagues. His active involvement with the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference and communication policy from a political economic perspective is described. Gandy discusses his relationship to radical political economy, including regular conference attendance at the Union for Democratic Communication (UDC) and the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). The background to, and research for, Gandy’s first book, Beyond Agenda Setting (1982), is discussed. The session includes discussion of Gandy’s early engagement with questions of segmentation and targeting that would be the subject of The Panoptic Sort (1993). Gandy discusses the influence of Anthony Giddens and Michel Foucault, among others, on his thinking. His move to take up a faculty position at the Annenberg School is described, alongside his impressions and memories of the school and its faculty in that late 1980s/early 1990s period. The session concludes with Gandy’s discussion of themes around, and the reception of, The Panoptic Sort.
Download Session Two Transcript
Session Three (July 23, 2019)
The interview covers Gandy’s career in the period between the publication of The Panoptic Sort (1993) and Gandy’s retirement from the Annenberg School for Communication in 2006. Among the topics discussed include his year as a fellow at the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center in 1993–1994 and his engagement with the literature on risk, probability, and life chances. Gandy recounts his work in framing, beginning in the mid-1990s, including his interest in the representation of (statistical) risk and race, as well as his engagement with proactive framing for social justice ends. The relationship of this 1990s work to George Gerbner’s legacy and approach is discussed. Gandy describes his relationship with the political economy tradition in North American and the UK, and his encounters with political-economic communication scholars, including Vincent Mosco, Herbert Schiller, and Nicholas Garnham. A related strand of the interview is Gandy’s criticism of cultural studies on methodological and quietism grounds. His involvement in privacy policy around the turn of the millennium, including his public criticisms of Alan Westin, are recounted. Gandy discusses his mixed feelings about teaching, especially undergraduates, as well as his appreciation of close graduate-student collaborations.
Download Session Three Transcript
Session Four (July 24, 2019)
The interview mostly covers Gandy’s post-retirement years in Arizona, from 2006 to the present, though it begins with a recounting of his participation in a University of Pennsylvania seminar on racial statistics and public policy organized by sociologist Tukufu Zuberi. Also discussed is Gandy’s collaboration with Chanita Hughes-Halbert on race genetics and African Americans’ health representation. Gandy explains his decision to relocate to Tucson, as well as his involvement in local politics and activism. He describes his research and writing process, in the context of his home office. The interview covers Gandy’s attempt to think through the concept of a racial class, and engagement with rational discrimination and cumulative advantage, especially in relation to his 2009 book Coming to Terms with Chance. The implications of the representation of risk, in relation to unequal life chances and policy, is extensively discussed. Gandy recounts his recent engagement with neuromarketing, and with behavioral economics.