The Principle of Materiality and Political Violence

    Activity: Talk or Presentation › Communicating lecture/presentation

    Description

    In this lecture I discuss the relation between materiality and political violence in Elaine Scarry's work. I address her analysis of the suffering body as speaking truth to power in The Body in Pain and of the principle of materiality as resisting or authorizing violence in Thermonuclear Monarchy. I look for an alternative to the social contract theory approach to consent and introduce the notion that violence may be justifiable but illegitimate.
    Period10 Dec 2015
    Event titleRe-engaging Elaine Scarry's The Body in Pain: A Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration
    Event typeConference
    LocationBrighton, United KingdomShow on map

    Keywords

    • body
    • materiality
    • political violence
    • Elaine Scarry