Peter R. Sedgwick is Reader in Philosophy at Cardiff University.

Taking a creative and critical approach that combines theory, poetry, and photography, this book provides an indispensable archaeology of our contemporary ways of seeing and being seen. Our hypermodern age is defined by unprecedented technological mobilizations of the visual, but what Sedgwick and Walford Davies show is that the continual churn of images that defines contemporary life can be traced to a long and brutal history of power in the West. Moving with ease from Oedipus Tyrannus and the Mona Lisa to military architecture and online marketing, this compelling book is a major contribution to our understanding of visual culture.

• Preface / Introduction: Archaeology of the Instant / 1. Screens of the Medusa / 2. 17 seconds / 3. 'I am the wound and the knife' / 4. Pixel archaeology / 5. Speed of Tragedy / 6. Dialogue: The Uncanny Speeds of Space

Peter R. Sedgwick is Reader in Philosophy at Cardiff University.

Taking a creative and critical approach that combines theory, poetry, and photography, this book provides an indispensable archaeology of our contemporary ways of seeing and being seen. Our hypermodern age is defined by unprecedented technological mobilizations of the visual, but what Sedgwick and Walford Davies show is that the continual churn of images that defines contemporary life can be traced to a long and brutal history of power in the West. Moving with ease from Oedipus Tyrannus and the Mona Lisa to military architecture and online marketing, this compelling book is a major contribution to our understanding of visual culture.

• Preface / Introduction: Archaeology of the Instant / 1. Screens of the Medusa / 2. 17 seconds / 3. 'I am the wound and the knife' / 4. Pixel archaeology / 5. Speed of Tragedy / 6. Dialogue: The Uncanny Speeds of Space

Peter R. Sedgwick is Reader in Philosophy at Cardiff University.

Taking a creative and critical approach that combines theory, poetry, and photography, this book provides an indispensable archaeology of our contemporary ways of seeing and being seen. Our hypermodern age is defined by unprecedented technological mobilizations of the visual, but what Sedgwick and Walford Davies show is that the continual churn of images that defines contemporary life can be traced to a long and brutal history of power in the West. Moving with ease from Oedipus Tyrannus and the Mona Lisa to military architecture and online marketing, this compelling book is a major contribution to our understanding of visual culture.

• Preface / Introduction: Archaeology of the Instant / 1. Screens of the Medusa / 2. 17 seconds / 3. 'I am the wound and the knife' / 4. Pixel archaeology / 5. Speed of Tragedy / 6. Dialogue: The Uncanny Speeds of Space