Self and space,resistance and discipline: a Foucauldian reading of George Orwell's 1984

The novel 1984, George Orwell's nightmarish vision of totalitarianism published after the Second World War, remains relevant in the twenty‐first century. Orwell's concerns regarding the abuse of power, the denial of self, and the eradication of both past and future continue to resonate in contemporary discussions of politics and society. Geographers, however, have directed minimal attention to the spatiality embedded within 1984. Accordingly, in this paper I examine the theoretical implications of space, resistance and discipline as manifest in the novel. Drawing on the theoretical insights of Michel Foucault, I detail how the spatial and temporal control of everyday activities serves to discipline spaces within a totalitarian society. Moreover, I suggest that 1984 illustrates how the production of knowledge through the act of writing may forge spaces of resistance within disciplined spaces. This paper contributes, therefore, in two areas, these being resistance geographies and fictive geographies.     

Nazi plans and Arab collaboration: New research about old questions

Dina Porat, The Blue and the Yellow Stars of David. The Zionist Leadership in Palestine and the Holocaust, 1939–1945, Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press, 1990, 334 pp., $27.95.

Hagit Lavsky, Before Catastrophe, The Distinctive Path of German Zionism (Hebrew), Jerusalem, Magnes and Hassifriyah Hazionit, 1990, 292 pp.

Uri Bialer, Between East and West: Israel's Foreign Policy Orientation 1948–1956. (LSE Monographs in International Studies), Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1990, 292 pp., $35.00.

Amitzur Ilan, Bernadotte in Palestine, 1948, London, Macmillan Press, 1989, 308 pp.

Yoav Gelber, “Massada” — The Defense of Palestine during World War II (Hebrew), Ramat‐Gan: Bar‐Ilan University Press, 1990, 180 pp.

Vivian D. Lipman, Americans and the Holy Land through British Eyes, 1820–1917: A Documentary History, London, V.D. Lipman in association with The Self Publishing Association, 1989, 320 pp.

Michael J. Cohen, Truman and Israel, Berkeley, California, University of California Press, 1990, 342 pp., $24.95.

Un grand rabbin sépharade en politique 1892–1923, Textes présentés par Esther Benbassa, Paris, Presses du CNRS, 1990, 261 pp., 130 F.

David Schaary, From Plain Zionism to Unity and Split in the Early History of General Zionism, 1929–1939 (Hebrew), Jerusalem, R. Mass, 1990, 294 pp.

Mission to the Diaspora, 1945–1948 (Hebrew), [Efal], Yad Tabenkin, Ghetto Fighters House and Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1989, 635 pp.     

Holocaust Archaeology: Archaeological Approaches to Landscapes of Nazi Genocide and Persecution

Abstract

Debate concerning the events of the Holocaust is well embedded in the historical discourse and, thus, clearly defined narratives of this period exist. However, in most European countries the Holocaust has only recently begun to be considered in terms of its surviving archaeological remains and landscapes, and the majority of known sites are still ill-defined and only partially understood from both spatial structural points of view. Additionally, thousands of sites across Europe remain unmarked, whilst the locations of others have been forgotten altogether. Such a situation has arisen as a result of a number of political, social, ethical, and religious factors which, coupled with the scale of the crimes, has often inhibited systematic search. This paper details the subsequent development and application of a non-invasive archaeological methodology aimed at rectifying this situation and presents a case for the establishment of Holocaust archaeology as a sub-discipline of conflict studies. In particular, the importance of moving away from the notion that the presence of historical sources precludes the need for the collection of physical evidence is stressed, and the humanitarian, scientific, academic, and commemorative value of exploring this period is considered.     

The politics of intimacy: Nazi and Hutu propaganda as case studies

This study examines the particular (but not exclusive) relationship between violent intimacy and Nazi and Hutu genocidal propaganda in relation to national desires. It focuses on the fears of the ‘double’ (the close stranger) as projected in language in order to point to the ‘anxiety of intimacy’ as a dangerous social space that under specific historical and political conditions can turn into genocide. As paradoxical as it may seem, intimacy is not only a concept of love but also a concept of hate and violence. This article aims to show how genocidal language can simultaneously reflect the desire of the other and its disavowal in violent language. Nazi and Hutu propaganda are analysed as case studies using psychoanalytic interpretations and social criticism theory to discuss how violent intimacy works in language and how mimetic desire of the other (of its freedom, power, intellect, pleasures, etc.), constitutes negative identification and a fear of the ‘double other’, giving rise to a ‘rapture of death’. Violent intimacy is not the only explanation of genocide, but it is a hidden force that should not be overlooked.