Democracy or your life! a few words on Jose Saramago's 'Politics of Silence'
Aristodemou, Maria (2008) Democracy or your life! a few words on Jose Saramago's 'Politics of Silence'. In: Silence, May 2008, University of Hull. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Event synopsis: This conference will examine the relationship between literature and silence. The literary text is often charged with the duty of speaking on matters otherwise silenced. In the moving testimonies of war-survivors, literature combats death in giving voice to the silenced. What is at stake when literary criticism renders eloquent the gaps and silences of the literary text? One reference point for the conference will be the implications of the change in the law in England and Wales regarding the right to silence on arrest. While the individual may choose to remain silent, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 curtailed the right to remain silent. Silence on arrest may therefore be subject to interpretation. To what extent is silence desirable? The mechanisms of silencing, in acts of deliberate, state-sanctioned censorship as well as those of unconscious and guilty suppression, will be identified in a range of literary texts from any period to the present day. Proposal for papers are invited on literature and silence in any period. Any related topic is welcome but papers may explore any of the following: Silent witnesses: making the evidence speak; vocal bodies Censorship and taboos: from silent correction, the blue pencil to legal prohibition Silencing literature (especially in legal trials and public fora) Howard Brenton, Radclyffe Hall, D. H. Lawrence, Satanic Verses, Oscar Wilde, Behzti Silence and war-time patriotism (keeping mum; careless talk costs lives) Official secrets and spy stories Historic silences Uncanny silences Silent approval and disapproval Quiescence, quietude The power of silence: silence as a rhetorical strategy Degrees of silence; absolute silence
Metadata
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Business and Law > Birkbeck Law School |
| Research Centres and Institutes: | Mapping Maternal Subjectivities, Identities and Ethics (MAMSIE) |
| Depositing User: | Sarah Hall |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Feb 2016 16:47 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:22 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/14503 |
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