This thesis examines the recent emergence of corporeal protest art in Russia. Through analyses of cultural, social, and economic shifts in the post-Soviet Era, I observe how this corporeal turn reflects a significant cultural transition away from the literary text, which has traditionally held a role of major importance in Russian culture. Detailed analysis of the contemporary performances of Pussy Riot and Petr Pavlensky are conducted in order to elucidate the social and political causes and implications of such a shift. Manifestation of oppositional discourse on the site of the human body is understood theoretically through Giorgio Agamben’s biopolitics, Mikhail Bakhtin’s grotesque body, and Inke Arns’ and Sylvia Sasse’s theory of subversive affirmation. Interestingly, this artistic divergence has coincided with the rise of relative economic and social wellbeing in Russia – conditions that tend to foster the development of a burgeoning public sphere, now standing at odds with an increase in political repression. Oppositionists and protest artists are, therefore, exploring new and unconventional ways of expressing dissent. My study contextualizes these new methods of expression within the larger tradition of the cultural expression of political will, examining the ways in which these works are readable through Russian cultural norms and to whom they speak. / Graduate

At the international level, indigenous activism has increasingly taken the form of advocating for ‘indigenous rights.’ These rights-based claims are articulated through a human rights framework, exemplified by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was passed by the UN General Assembly in September 2007. Since this time, the Declaration has become the focal point of indigenous activism at the international – and domestic – levels. Proponents of the DRIP have claimed that it moves international law into a “post-Eurocentric” position, and that for the first time, the rights of indigenous peoples have been recognized by the international community. This thesis interrogates the rights-based discourse employed in international indigenous activism. Using postcolonial and poststructuralist theory, it puts forward a hypothesis of double-movement governance affecting indigenous peoples throughout the world. In this thesis, the double-movement is made up of relations between biopolitical management of indigenous lives, and neoliberal governmentality, which come together to establish the power relations within our present-day colonial system. This double-movement governance is then connected to Glen Sean Coulthard’s critique of a politics of recognition framework, on which human rights are based. Together, this theory forms my hypothesis that instead of providing indigenous peoples with emancipatory pathways out of the colonial present, indigenous rights discourses further entrench colonial norms and hierarchies within indigenous communities, and between States and indigenous peoples. Having established my hypothesis, I then test it with empirical data from the Declaration, indigenous fora at the UN, and domestic laws, agreements and policies. Taking the evidence into account, I argue that despite meaningful steps being taken to establish collective rights for indigenous peoples, a rights-based discourse does indeed continue to entrench colonial norms and hierarchies within indigenous communities and between States and indigenous peoples. This is in part because of issues of translation that occur when indigenous claims are articulated through a human rights framework, but also because a system based upon a politics of recognition – such as a human rights framework – is unable to move indigenous peoples out of the present-day colonial relations of power in which they live. Ultimately, such a system is only able to offer indigenous peoples ‘white liberty and white justice.’

Citizens of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation fight for justice with their bodies at the frontlines of environmental catastrophe. This dissertation employs a biopolitical and interpretive analysis to examine these struggles in the polluted heart of Canada’s ‘Chemical Valley’. Drawing from a discursive analysis of situated concerns on the ground and a textual analysis of Canada’s biopolitical ‘policy ensemble’ for Indigenous citizenship, this dissertation examines how citizens and public officials respond to environmental and reproductive injustices in Aamjiwnaang. Based upon in-depth interviews with residents and policy-makers, I first document citizens of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation’s activities and practices on the ground as they cope with and navigate their health concerns and habitat. Second, I examine struggles over knowledge and the contestation over scientific expertise as the community seeks reproductive justice. Third, I contextualize citizen struggles over knowledge by discussing the power relations embedded within the ‘policy ensemble’ for Indigenous citizenship and Canadian jurisdiction for on-reserve environmental health. From an interpretive lens, inspired by Foucault’s concepts of biopower and governmentality, the dissertation develops a framework of “ecological citizenship”, which confronts biopolitics with a theoretical discussion of place to expand upon existing Canadian citizenship and environmental studies literature. I argue that reproductive justice in Aamjiwnaang cannot be separated from environmental justice, and that the concept of place is central to ongoing struggles. As such, I discuss “ecological citizenship’s double-edge”, to contend that citizens are at once bound up within disciplinary biopolitical power relations and also articulate a radical form of place-based belonging.

Orientador: Hermes Renato Hildebrand / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T08:15:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva_TarcisioTorres_D.pdf: 2111112 bytes, checksum: 92dccad6731c494051753412ef552c72 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Este trabalho procurou investigar a utilização da imagem em manifestações ativistas contemporâneas com ampla repercussão mundial, considerando o impacto das novas tecnologias de comunicação sobre tais práticas, assim como sua relação com as mídias tradicionais. A ênfase dada ao campo da imagem é uma tentativa de propor novas perspectivas de análise a um ambiente de significação em transformação. Em sua composição, nota-se uma produção crescente de cunho amador, além de seu caráter híbrido que agrega ações físicas e virtuais, assim como a propagação em redes de comunicação horizontais e verticais. Para que o objetivo proposto fosse atingido, abordou-se inicialmente o potencial estético-político das imagens mecânicas e eletrônicas com o intuito de localizar elementos existentes em tecnologias de mídia anteriores ao digital que contribuíssem para a argumentação inicial. Em seguida, foi apresentado o campo da biopolítica, com ênfase nos trabalhos de Foucault, além de conceitos essenciais para as análises que se seguiriam, tais como "multidão" (Hardt e Negri) e "trabalho imaterial" (Lazzarato e Negri). Após esta localização teórica, foram propostos dois blocos analíticos. Em ambos, optou-se por observar movimentos que surgiram ao longo do desenvolvimento deste trabalho. No primeiro, destaca-se a Revolução Verde no Irã e a Primavera Árabe no Norte da África e Oriente Médio. Neste momento em especial, foi evidenciado o poder de afecção das imagens dessas manifestações, assim como sua participação na "partilha do sensível", conceito proposto por Jacques Rancière. No segundo bloco, enfatizou-se a ação da ativista egípcia Aliaa Magda Elmahdy e dos grupos feministas Femen e Pussy Riot. Além disso, foi proposta nesta etapa a atualização do conceito de biopolítica por meio das idéias de Nicolas Rose e Giorgio Agamben. Em ambos os momentos de análise, foi observado que o corpo aparece como um elemento central para a compreensão das imagens selecionadas, pois ele é a chave para que sejam entendidas as forças biopolíticas que agem sobre a sociedade contemporânea. Como conclusão, observou-se que as imagens ativistas, de cunho amador e que circulam pelas redes de comunicação digital propõem um novo olhar para a produção político-visual contemporânea em função das particularidades por elas apresentadas. Além disso, tais imagens denunciam um campo paradoxal em que ao mesmo tempo se observa a tentativa de transgressão e uma incômoda simbiose com os sistemas estabelecidos de controle da vida / Abstract: This research investigated the use of the image in contemporary activist expressions which echoed worldwide, considering the new communication technologies impact on such practices and also its relation to traditional media. The emphasis given to the image field is an attempt of proposing new perspectives of analysis to a changing environment of signification. It can be noticed in its composition a growing amateur production, in addition to its hybrid nature which assembles virtual and physical actions, as well as propagation on vertical and horizontal communication networks. In order to achieve the research goal, it was initially discussed the political-aesthetical potential of mechanical and electrical images. The intention was to situate existing elements in media prior to digital that could contribute to the initial argumentation. It was then presented the biopolitics field, emphasizing the works of Foucault and also essential concepts to the following analysis such as "multitute" (Hardt and Negri) and "immaterial labor" (Lazzarato and Negri). After this theoretical approach, two analytical sections were presented. Some of the main movements which emerged along with the development of this research are mentioned in both. In the first section, the Green Revolution in Iran and the Arab Spring in North Africa and Middle East stand out. In this case, it was intended to demonstrate the power of affection inherent in the manifestation images, as well as their contribution to the "distribution of the sensible", a concept proposed by Jacques Rancière. In the second section, the actions of the Egyptian activist Aliaa Magda Elmahdy and the feminist groups Femen e Pussy Riot are emphasized. Besides these analyses, the concept of biopolitics is updated by means of the ideas of Nicolas Rose and Giorgio Agamben. In both moments of investigation, it was observed that the body emerges as a central element to the comprehension of the selected images because it is the key to understanding biopolitcs forces operating on contemporary society. In conclusion, it can be noticed that the amateur activist images circulating in digital communication networks provide a new look to the contemporary visual political production given their particularities. In addition, such images denounce a paradoxical field where it is observed at the same time an attempt to transgression and an uncomfortable symbiosis with established systems of life control / Doutorado / Artes Visuais / Doutor em Artes Visuais

Ce travail doctoral a pour enjeu théorique d'étudier la valeur acquise par les formes intimes de résistance dans les films polonais produits entre 1968 et 1989, à l’appui d’un panorama transversal d’œuvres connues ou inconnues. Si, comme l’écrit le philosophe polonais Leszek Kołakowski en 1977, « les liens familiaux, affectifs et sexuels résistent obstinément à l’emprise du pouvoir », comment le cinéma polonais a-t-il montré des corps qui aiment, pensent et rêvent malgré tout, figurant par leur présence à l’écran un rapport de force violent entretenu par la société civile avec l’État ? Déplaçant le concept de « biopolitique » (Michel Foucault) dans le contexte de la Pologne populaire, il s’agit de comprendre comment émerge une esthétique du désarroi visant à approfondir l’exploration poétique des gestes, des états (psycho)somatiques, des réactions corporelles et des sexualités. L’enjeu esthétique central cache un sous-enjeu mémoriel propre à l’Europe centrale et balkanique : qu’est-ce qu’à rebours les corps filmés font-ils à la mémoire du communisme ? Constituant le défi théorique de cette thèse, ce renversement que nous proposons de qualifier de mémoire bio-cinématographique, contribuera à éclairer la relation complexe induite par l’esthétique cinématographique avec l’altérité. / The theoretical challenge of this PhD consists on studying the value acquired by the intimate forms of resistance in Polish films produced between 1968 and 1989 in support of a transversal panorama of known or unknown filmic works. If, as the Polish philosopher Leszek Kołakowski wrote in 1977, “family, affective and sexual relations stubbornly resist the grip of communist power”, how did Polish cinema show bodies that loved, thought and dreamt despite everything, pointing, through their presence on-screen, to a power relationship that confronted civil society with the communist state? Extrapolating the concept of “biopolitics” (M. Foucault) to the context of Communist Poland, our study aims to understand how an aesthetic of disarray emerged in order to delve deeper into the poetic depiction of gestures, (psycho)somatic states, bodily reactions and sexualities. This multi-layered aesthetic issue conceals a crucial subtopic concerning memory which is specific to Central and Balkan Europe: what impact do filmed bodies have on the memory of communism? Discussing these themes, comprised in what we propose to designate as a bio-cinematic memory, seems to be relevant to shed some light on the complex experiences offered by Polish cinema towards otherness.

Child marriage, usually regarded as an issue pertaining to the non-‘developed’ parts of the world, can still be found in the United States (US), though efforts to combat it shape foreign policy goals. Is child marriage represented as a ‘problem’ in the same way internally as externally, and how do human rights play a role? Using Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem Represented to be?” approach, the problem representations emerge, showing that child marriage functions as a ‘solution’ to welfare ‘problems’ in national policy, as an obstacle to economic prosperity in foreign policy; and as a ‘foreign’ culture ‘problem’ in immigration policy. Postcolonial feminist theory’s “Third World Girl” allows for a deeper understanding of some of the subjectivities these representations entail, and the biopolitical nature of the assumptions which underlie these problem representations are explored through Foucault’s theoretical work on sexuality and production.

The state´s responsibility for the health and well-being of the population was part of the development towards the welfare state. Government agencies at various levels were helpful in surveys and were also the state´s tool for enforcing social policy goals. The main purpose of the essay is to investigate in what way mental health care 1935-1939 was a tool for the growth of the welfare state. The pronounced questions are about what mental health care looked like regarding patients’ activation, mental care in families’ homes, sterilization and forensic psychiatry, and in what way mental health care can be said to have been a state administrative unit. The investigated material is documents from the administration at St. Olof's Hospital in Visby and the source material is examined on the basis of Michel Foucault's theories on discipline, control, exclusion mechanisms and biopolitics. The result of the essay is that mental health care and St. Olof's Hospital can be seen as one of the tools for the growth of the welfare state both as part of the administration, as a prerequisite for biopolitics, and as an entertainer and messenger of norms and discipline.

This diploma thesis called "Koncept biopolitiky v díle Michela Foucaulta s konkrétním zaměřením na bezpečnost v rámci oblasti ČR od roku 1990" is devoted to the theme of biopolitics in the writings of Michel Foucault. At first the thesis focuses on previous writings of Michel Foucault, which inspired his concept of biopolitics. It's all about the archeology of knowledge, discipline and sexuality dispozitiv. Biopolitics is a government practice that focuses on the population as a mass. The population by biopolitics is influenced by factors such as the environment, health issues, mortality etc. According to Foucault, biopolitics is originated in the political direction called liberalism. Foucault's ideas and theses are mainly related to the 19th century, but the theme of biopolitics is also relevant for our time. Therefore the diploma thesis focuses on the drugs problem in the Czech Republic on the basis of Foucault's biopolitics. The thesis acquaints us with the evolution of the drug scene in the Czech Republic after 1990, when there was a new political constitution. It acquaints us with the drug policy that works in the Czech Republic and with legislation that resolves the criminal page of drug problems. The thesis also deals with ways of helping drug addicts. Keywords biopolitics, discourse,...

This study shows how the official death-declaring of bodies in 20th century Sweden became inextricably linked to the modulation of a population’s health through transplantations. In its critical examination of the terms of possibility to declare a body as dead in the latter half of 20th century Sweden the study not only relates to medicinal humanities and studies in contemporary biopolitics but, more broadly, the diverse field of Queer Death Studies. With its interdisciplinarity, the study approaches Swedish official governmental material in a genealogical manner and aims not only to show how bodies historically became declared as dead but, more importantly, to shed light on hidden points of intersections within western biopolitics. While the study reveals several distinctive trajectories—e.g. death-entry from self-evident to dissolved to eventualized—it also highlights biopolitical tactics in attempts to reach desirable outcomes and circumvent obstacles such as the public. Among these, it exposes an ambiguous right to declare bodies as dead with its possibility to produce exceptions from the judicial system—exceptions brought forth through a truth-telling of bodies bare life in tandem with an extraction of previously unattainable organs. Thus, the study suggests that to further understand contemporary governing, and not risking an intensification of it, Agamben’s approach towards hidden intersections between juridico-institutional and biopolitical needs to be extended to encompass a third vector of truth-telling.

This study inquires as to whether Walmart’s sustainability campaign represents a sincere and holistic change throughout the company’s global supply chain or if it is simply a public relations campaign which caters to the growing target market of “next-generation” consumers and justifies further expansion into “emerging markets”. A critical analysis of Walmart’s sustainability discourse is presented, using transcribed texts of various corporate and publicitygeared publications. Frequently utilized terms and themes are identified throughout the big-box retailer’s sustainability campaign which convey a distinctly Neoliberal ethos—a political economy which lies at the heart of current practices of institutional unsustainability—and emphasize the role of the atomized individual—who may purchase protection from environmental risks via green products. Other themes, which are commonly associated with sustainability research, are glaringly absent: subsidiarity; human rights; steady-state economics; economic inequity; the precautionary principle. This research aims to shed light on the prospects for the sustainability of green overconsumption, which Walmart is leading the way in promoting, and for the continuation of the modern economistic zeitgeist into the twenty-first century.