Gothic visibilities and International Relations: Uncanny icons, critical comics, and the politics of abjection in Aleppo
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Gothic visibilities and International Relations : Uncanny icons, critical comics, and the politics of abjection in Aleppo. / Windfeld, Frederik Carl; Hvithamar, Marius Hauge; Hansen, Lene.
In: Review of International Studies, Vol. 50, No. 1, 2024, p. 3-34.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Gothic visibilities and International Relations
T2 - Uncanny icons, critical comics, and the politics of abjection in Aleppo
AU - Windfeld, Frederik Carl
AU - Hvithamar, Marius Hauge
AU - Hansen, Lene
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - The war in Syria has been communicated to global audiences through images of dead and injured children, decapitated and tortured bodies, and ruined cities. The article shows how news media coverage of the war's impact on the city of Aleppo invoked a Gothic tradition. Drawing on Kristeva and Freud's concepts of the abject and the uncanny, the article argues that the Gothic tradition can further International Relations research on the constitution of Selves and Others. The Gothic Other is constituted through the (Gothic) Self's repulsion, fascination, and desire, and the Gothic tradition revolves around an understanding of the invisible as an in-between space of fear and anticipation. The ability to recognise Gothic themes in an image depends on one's familiarity with the Gothic tradition, hence images are theorised as having a Gothic potentiality. The article focuses on how the Anglo-Saxon Gothic tradition enabled Western readers to identify Gothic themes in news coverage of the war in Aleppo. The article adopts a multimethod strategy including a content analysis of 457 images published by Western news media; a discourse analysis of news stories; an analysis of three Gothic, uncanny iconic motifs; and an author-created comic drawing on Gothic elements from the published photographs.
AB - The war in Syria has been communicated to global audiences through images of dead and injured children, decapitated and tortured bodies, and ruined cities. The article shows how news media coverage of the war's impact on the city of Aleppo invoked a Gothic tradition. Drawing on Kristeva and Freud's concepts of the abject and the uncanny, the article argues that the Gothic tradition can further International Relations research on the constitution of Selves and Others. The Gothic Other is constituted through the (Gothic) Self's repulsion, fascination, and desire, and the Gothic tradition revolves around an understanding of the invisible as an in-between space of fear and anticipation. The ability to recognise Gothic themes in an image depends on one's familiarity with the Gothic tradition, hence images are theorised as having a Gothic potentiality. The article focuses on how the Anglo-Saxon Gothic tradition enabled Western readers to identify Gothic themes in news coverage of the war in Aleppo. The article adopts a multimethod strategy including a content analysis of 457 images published by Western news media; a discourse analysis of news stories; an analysis of three Gothic, uncanny iconic motifs; and an author-created comic drawing on Gothic elements from the published photographs.
KW - Abject
KW - Comics
KW - Gothic
KW - Iconic Images
KW - Syrian War
KW - Uncanny
KW - Visuality
U2 - 10.1017/S0260210522000547
DO - 10.1017/S0260210522000547
M3 - Journal article
VL - 50
SP - 3
EP - 34
JO - Review of International Studies
JF - Review of International Studies
SN - 0260-2105
IS - 1
ER -
ID: 344364910