Violence and the Limits of Representation

In an era that plays host to war, terrorism, civil unrest, and economic uncertainty, it is more vital than ever to think critically about the ways in which violence is framed, mediated and regulated through representations. This book explores the variegated forms violence can take, not only physical but abstract, emotional and virtual, and directed not only against bodies but buildings, faiths, cultures, and classes. With essays by experts in literature, film, drama, art, and philosophy, Violence and the Limits of Representation contributes to a richer understanding of violence and its effects. This collection not only offers insight into the challenges and ethical issues involved in the representation of violence but, through a concern with the socio-political contexts of violence, offers a unique set of perspectives on the conflicts and concerns of the present.

Table of Contents:
Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Introduction: Violence and the Limits of Representation; Sam Goodman and Graham Matthews 1. The Violence of Representation and the Representation of Violence; Benjamin Noys 2. Violence and Love (in which Yoko Ono encourages Slavoj Zizek to give peace a chance); Scott Wilson 3. (Im)material Violence: Discipline and the Gaze in James Kelman's How Late It Was, How Late; Graham Matthews 4. Sadeian Women: Erotic Violence in the Surrealist Spectacle; Catriona McAra 5. Demarcating Violence in the Dramaturgy of Lisa McGee's Girls and Dolls; Rosalind Haslett 6. Skeletons of Solid Objects: Imperial Violence in J.G. Farrell's Empire Trilogy; Sam Goodman 7. Contingent Violence: Bergson and the Comedy of Horrors in Schindler's List; John Mullarkey 8. Violence and Mediation: The Ethics of Spectatorship in the Twenty-First Century Horror Film; Xavier Aldana Reyes 9. Objects of Surprise: Violence, Security and Metaphysics; Robert Jackson Index

About the Author :
Graham Matthews is Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University. His publications include Ethics and Desire in the Wake of Postmodernism (2012) along with other contributions to journals and edited collections on contemporary literature. He is currently preparing a monograph on the literary landscape of the two cultures debate. Sam Goodman teaches contemporary literature at the University of Exeter. His research interests are in popular British fiction of the post Second World War period, national identity and the changing geopolitics of the era. He is the editor, with Victoria Bates and Alan Bleakley, of Medicine, Health and the Arts: Approaches to the Medical Humanities (2013).

Review :
"This stimulating collection provides a provocative and original exploration of representations of violence across cinema, popular music, the internet, literature, art and theatre. Through engagement with influential thinkers and artists - from Roland Barthes to Slavoj Zizek by way of the Marquis de Sade, Yoko Ono, Leonora Carrington and Steven Spielberg - this superb anthology greatly broadens our understanding of representation not only as the cause of violence, but also as determining of our responses to it. Violence and the Limits of Representation focuses our attention in particular on the everyday presence of violence in institutions (the procedures, bureaucracy and terminology which perpetrate indifferent violence against people), our homes, ubiquitous new technologies, the built environment, security culture, and all pervasive global capital. The transdisciplinary influence of this text will be felt for years to come." David Martin-Jones, Professor of Film Studies, University of Glasgow, UK