Constituting Witnessing Publics: the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict in an Era of Testimony and Human Rights
10. November 2011
Prof. Dr. Rosanne Kennedy (Canberra)
Arbeitsgespräch des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Kollegs
In this paper I analyse constructions of evidence in human rights reports, taking two reports from the recent Gaza conflict (2008-2009) as case studies: Human Rights Watch’s Rain of Fire, and the UN’s Fact-Finding Mission on Gaza, known popularly as The Goldstone Report. I consider the photographic and testimonial evidence in these reports in the context of contemporary discourses of trauma, testimony and witnessing.
Specifically, I frame my discussion with an analysis of witnessing in Ari Folman’s film, Waltz with Bashir (2008). I argue that while testimony and photographs are widely used to document violations, they have other effects as well: they construct subjectivities, they solicit witnessing publics, and they legitimate particular discourses and practices as ways of understanding and talking about violence. I propose that a contractual model of human rights may prove more effective than the dominant model that favours testimonies of trauma and suffering as a means of mobilizing support for humanitarian interventions.
Do, 10. November 2011, 18 Uhr s.t.
Kulturwissenschaftliches Kolleg Konstanz
Otto-Adam-Str. 5
78467 Konstanz
Ansprechpartner
Fred Girod
fred.girod[at]uni-konstanz.de
Tel. 0041 (0)71 6869440