American Dolorologies
Keyword
African American StudiesAmerican Culture
American History
American Studies
Cultural Studies
Literature
Date Published
2014-04-01Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
American Dolorologies presents a theoretically sophisticated intervention into contemporary equations of subjectivity with trauma. Simon Strick argues against a universalism of pain and instead foregrounds the intimate relations of bodily affect with racial and gender politics. In concise and original readings of medical debates, abolitionist photography, Enlightenment philosophy, and contemporary representations of torture, Strick shows the crucial function that evocations of “bodies in pain” serve in the politicization of differences. This book provides a historical contextualization of contemporary ideas of suffering, sympathy, and compassion, thus establishing an embodied genealogy of the pain that is at the heart of American democratic sentiment. Print versions available for purchase at https://sunypress.edu/Books/A/American-DolorologiesDOI
10.1353/book.28834Scopus Count
Collections
The following license files are associated with this item:
- Creative Commons
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
American Economic Imperialism and the Spanish-American War EraAmerican history and education always viewed the Spanish-American War era of 1898 as a time when imperialism unexpectedly became foreign policy. However, American imperialism would differ from the form it took in European countries. America would promote a “noble imperialism” that would elevate the culture of these new territories to the greatness that America represented. This notion appeared daily in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle during 1898. As time passed, the historiography of this era changed to provide more evidence of economic and military imperialism underlying American actions. Also, evidence about American brutality during the pacification of the Philippines came to light. Modern education can no longer focus on small pinpoints of history now that we have the technology to find ever increasing amounts of information. Many educators and historians agree that the use of modern technological devises and a focus on the whole story can engage the 21st century student.
-
How film and literature influence the ways in which East Asian American identity is formedThis paper looks at the ways in which East Asian Americans sense of identity is formed through the representations of them and their culture in American film and literature. I will discuss through an analysis of rhetoric, theory, and criticism by East Asian authors, how the portrayal of a culture and people impact and influence their sense of identity. For example, I will answer questions such as what does it mean to be both Asian and American, especially when growing up in a Western society and culture? How does the portrayal of East Asians in popular American film and literature mold and shape their understanding of their sense of self? What are some East Asians stereotyped? How do these stereotypes fit into the ideas that popular Western culture perceives? My primary novels are examples of Asian American authors writing about the Asian American experience and how they perceive what it means to be Asian American. The films I chose look at white American directors and producers and how they interpret Asian culture in their films. My primary and secondary research will further examine how film and literature impacts the ways in which Asian Americans view their identity, heritage, and culture. This will be done through an analyses of rhetoric and history, both Asian and American.
-
Comic Books as American Propaganda During World War IIAmerican comic books were a relatively, but quite popular form of media during the years of World War II. Amid a limited media landscape that otherwise consisted of radio, film, newspaper, and magazines, comics served as a useful tool in engaging readers of all ages to get behind the war effort. The aims of this research was to examine a sampling of messages put forth by comic book publishers before and after American involvement in World War II in the form of fictional comic book stories. In this research, it is found that comic book storytelling/messaging reflected a theme of American isolation prior to U.S. involvement in the war, but changed its tone to become a strong proponent for American involvement post-the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This came in numerous forms, from vilification of America’s enemies in the stories of super heroics, the use of scrap, rubber, paper, or bond drives back on the homefront to provide resources on the frontlines, to a general sense of patriotism. This research looks to the motivations behind such storytelling in the background of comic book writers and artists as well as involvement from government agencies such as the War Writer’s Board. It’s also important to note that while comics often vilified the enemies of America through the use of terrible stereotypes and caricature, within those same pages were messages promoting solidarity among religion, race, and background for the purpose of winning the war. These mixed messages often make for very contradictory presentations, especially when looked at retroactively and allow comic books from this time period to be looked at as media artifacts, providing insight into cultural and societal ways of thinking during this period, with appropriate historical context. I have created a website supplement to this thesis where many examples of the types of images discussed have been collected and organized for viewing: https://comicsgotowar.weebly.com/
