Overview

"101 Pat-Downs traces the history of airport security since September 11, 2001, introducing assorted ""characters"" of airport security, from passengers who check their brains with their baggage to TSA agents who break the stereotypes. Two million people fly commercially every day in the United States, and every single passenger must interact with members of airport security. Why do travelers put up with long lines and invasive screenings, and why do TSA agents put up with the disrespect and anger directed at them? Shawna Malvini Redden asked this question for years, flying around the country questioning passengers and security officers and recording everything from carry-on bananas to passengers who go mildly bonkers when their water bottles are confiscated. The answers she got are much more complex than she anticipated and involve a powerful combination of identity, emotion, and history. Redden met mission-oriented TSOs who described their job with reverent commitment and others who fit every lazy, deviant stereotype the media has to offer. And she ran into every type of passenger on the planet, from entitled business travelers to parents with toddlers to the hot mess, travels-once-a-year, can't-figure-out-how-to-get-through-the-security-checkpoint-without-crying flier. 101 Pat-Downs is the story of her research journey. Part confessional tale, part investigative research, and part light-hearted social commentary, it's Mary Roach meets David Graeber. The book presents the inside scoop on airport security interactions using Redden's experiences and those of passengers and TSA agents. Along the way, she introduces common ""characters"" of airport security, humanising the stereotypically gruff TSO and explaining why so many passengers feel nervous inside TSA checkpoints. AUTHOR: Shawna Malvini Redden is an award-winning writer, researcher with a doctorate in communication studies from Arizona State University. She is a professor of communication studies at Sacramento State University. She specialises in organisational and interpersonal communication research, and qualitative methods. 7 photographs"

Full Product Details

Author:   Shawna Malvini Redden
Publisher:   Potomac Books Inc
Imprint:   Potomac Books Inc
ISBN:  

9781640123625

ISBN 10:   1640123628
Pages:   296
Publication Date:   01 June 2021
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Going Undercover in Airport Security 1. From the Golden Age of Flying to Security Theatre in Ninety Days Flat: How September 11, 2001, Changed Airport Security Forever 2. “My House, My Rules”: On Stereotypical Transportation Security Officers 3. Fear and Loathing in Airport Security: On Stereotypical Passengers 4. Is That a Salami in Your Purse? (Or Are You Happy to See Me?): On Contraband Confiscation 5. “One Shoe, Two Shoes, Red Shoes, Blue Shoes”: On Shoe Removal 6. No Crying over Stolen Shampoo: On Liquids and Gels 7. Naked Scanners Are for Perverts: On Advanced Imaging Technology 8. Meeting Resistance: On Enhanced Pat-Downs 9. Risk-Based Security: On Things That Are Good in Theory 10. Even Pilots Have Pat-Downs, Sometimes: Flight Crew Tales 11. On the Front Lines with “Screener Joe”: On Ideal Transportation Security Officers 12. Lemmings and Sheeple: On Ideal Passengers 13. Nice TSOs Finish Last: On Mindful Transportation Security Officers 14. The Traveling Unicorn: On Mindful Passengers 15. Traveling with Identity Baggage: How Security Challenges Intersecting Identities Conclusion: What an Undercover Look at Airport Security Reveals about Communication, Emotion, and Identity Appendix: Security Checkpoint Transportation Security Officer Stations/Positions and Descriptions Notes Bibliography Index  

Reviews

As a road warrior myself, I appreciated Shawna Malvini Redden's lively 101 Pat-Downs and its keen observations about our current form of security theatre and how people on either side of that power dynamic react to and evolve because of it. I appreciated Malvini Redden's focus on the fact that we have rights when we fly, and we can take actions to protect and report violations of them. --Elisa Camahort Page, coauthor of Road Map for Revolutionaries: Resistance, Activism, and Advocacy for All --Elisa Camahort Page An exemplar of in-depth organizational research and a must-read for all frequent travelers, this book provides a behind-the-scenes picture of one of America's most despised government agencies--the Transportation Security Administration. --Sarah J. Tracy, author of Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact--Sarah J. Tracy

An exemplar of in-depth organizational research and a must-read for all frequent travelers, this book provides a behind-the-scenes picture of one of America's most despised government agencies--the Transportation Security Administration. --Sarah J. Tracy, author of Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact--Sarah J. Tracy As a road warrior myself, I appreciated Shawna Malvini Redden's lively 101 Pat-Downs and its keen observations about our current form of security theatre and how people on either side of that power dynamic react to and evolve because of it. I appreciated Malvini Redden's focus on the fact that we have rights when we fly, and we can take actions to protect and report violations of them. --Elisa Camahort Page, coauthor of Road Map for Revolutionaries: Resistance, Activism, and Advocacy for All --Elisa Camahort Page

This well-written book will interest readers in a number of disciplines, including aviation, communications, gender studies, security studies, social sciences, and more. --J. Agee, Choice As a road warrior myself, I appreciated Shawna Malvini Redden's lively 101 Pat-Downs and its keen observations about our current form of security theatre and how people on either side of that power dynamic react to and evolve because of it. I appreciated Malvini Redden's focus on the fact that we have rights when we fly, and we can take actions to protect and report violations of them. --Elisa Camahort Page, coauthor of Road Map for Revolutionaries: Resistance, Activism, and Advocacy for All An exemplar of in-depth organizational research and a must-read for all frequent travelers, this book provides a behind-the-scenes picture of one of America's most despised government agencies--the Transportation Security Administration. --Sarah J. Tracy, author of Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact

Author Information

Shawna Malvini Redden is an associate professor of communication studies at California State University, Sacramento, specializing in organizational and interpersonal communication research and qualitative methods. Her research has appeared in Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Qualitative Health Research, and Departures in Critical Qualitative Research.

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