Picturing the perpetrator

There is considerable potential in examining images associated with atrocity that do not depict the actual act of violence or the victim itself, but rather depict the circumstances around which such acts occurred. Such images of the absence of visible violence can lead the viewer into an imaginative engagement with the nature of atrocity, and the nature of those who perpetrate it. In exploring this absence, Hannah Arendt’s “banality of evil” can be taken to mean that the spaces in which atrocities take place are often nondescript, everyday and banal, and that the people who commit them may appear on the surface to be so as well, even if their interior motivations and rationales are far more complex than that they were simply following orders. Photography, with its optical -mechanical process, is adept at recording such banal facts of the scene, and, by inviting the viewer to scan the image for minute details, often generates a tension between such mundanities and the audience’s knowledge of the potential import of the situation garnered via a caption. This strategy of the “aesthetics of the banal” has become a common one in contemporary photographic practice.1 However, the idea that an image that appears on the surface to be of an ordinary scene or person but which the viewer then discovers contains another, deeper and more imaginative reading is one that has long been effective. In order to explore the possibility of an absence in the image being a key to understanding, it is useful to examine a constellation of images that gather around a key perpetrator of the Holocaust, images that do not overtly show either the victims or the violence itself, but by the very absence of such evidence propel the viewer into an imaginative act of engagement with the nature of evil. Publishers notes about the book 'Picturing Atrocity: Photography in Crisis': Picturing Atrocity Photography in Crisis Geoffrey Batchen, Mick Gidley, Nancy K. Millers and Jay Prosser 'It is hard to look: My Lai, Dachau, Abu Ghraib, Wounded Knee. We know these atrocities through the painful evidence of unforgettable documentary photographs. But these images are far from innocent. Just as "atrocity" itself is a loaded term, every photograph of such an event is a bit of high-level propaganda in a moralized political argument, encouraging the viewer to bear witness, make judgments, take sides. This important new collection of essays by some of the most brilliant analysts of photography shows how deliberately horrifying pictures have shaped – and continue to shape – the ethics and politics of the modern era.' – Brian Wallis, Chief Curator, International Center of Photography 'Picturing Atrocity is an excellent examination of the dilemmas implicit in photography’s representation of human suffering, whether caused by torture, war, poverty, the political chaos and neglect that multiplies the toll from natural disasters (as in Africa’s Horn region today), or other gross rights violations. Multi-layered and lucid, these essays demolish any lingering pretence that images of suffering can be understood without also considering the context and media in which they are presented, and the often far-from-the-scene viewer who consumes them. Picturing Atrocity is critical reading for communicators in the aid, development and human rights communities who participate in the dissemination of these essential but volatile images.' –Ellen Tolmie, Senior Photography Editor, UNICEF Ever since the landmark publication of Susan Sontag’s On Photography, it has been impossible to look at photographs, particularly those of violence and suffering, without questioning our role as photographic voyeur. Are we desensitized by the proliferation of these images? Or do the images stir our own sense of justice and act as a call to arms? Are we consuming the suffering of others? What should our responses to these images be? To answer these questions, Picturing Atrocity brings together essays from some of the foremost writers on photography today, including Rebecca Solnit, Alfredo Jaar, Ariella Azoulay, John Lucaites, Robert Hariman and Susan Meiselas, to offer close readings of images that reveal the realities behind the photographs, the subjects and the photographers. From the massacre of the Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee to the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, from famine in China to apartheid in South Africa, Picturing Atrocity examines a broad spectrum of photographs. Each essay focuses specifically on an iconic image, offering a distinct approach and context, in order to enable us to look again – this time more closely – at the picture. In addition, four photo-essays showcase the work of photographers involved in the making of photographs of brutality as well as the artists’ own reflections on these images. Together these essays cover the historical and geographical range of atrocity photographs and respond to current concerns about such disturbing images. Picturing Atrocity is an important read, not just for insights into photography, but for its reflections on human injustice and suffering. In keeping with that aim, all royalties from the book will be donated to Amnesty International. Geoffrey Batchen is a photography historian and Professor of Art History at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Mick Gidley is Emeritus Professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of Leeds, UK. Nancy K. Miller is Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature, the Graduate Center, CUNY. Jay Prosser is Reader in Humanities in the School of English at the University of Leeds, UK

Ben Snook, The Anglo-Saxon chancery: the history, language and production of Anglo-Saxon charters from Alfred to Edgar

No abstract available

A theoretical analysis of price elasticity of energy demand in multi-stage energy conversion systems

The objective of this paper is an analytical exploration of the problem of price elasticity of energy demand in multi-stage energy conversion systems. The paper describes in some detail an analytical model of energy demand in such systems. Under a clearly stated set of assumptions, the model makes it possible to explore both the impacts of the number of sub-systems, and of varying sub-system elasticities on overall system elasticity. The analysis suggests that overall price elasticity of energy demand for such systems will tend asymptotically to unity as the number of sub-systems increases. © 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd

Working with ambivalence: Making psychotherapy more accessible to young black people

The contemporary relevance of psychoanalysis is being increasingly questioned; Off the Couch challenges this view, demonstrating that psychoanalytic thinking and its applications are both innovative and relevant, in particular to the management and treatment of more disturbed and difficult to engage patient groups. Chapters address: clinical applications in diverse settings across the age range the relevance of psychoanalytic thinking to the practice of CBT, psychosomatics and general psychiatry the contribution of psychoanalytic thinking to mental health policy and the politics of conflict and mediation. This book suggests that psychoanalysis has a vital position within the public health sector and discusses how it can be better utilised in the treatment of a range of mental health problems. It also highlights the role of empirical research in providing a robust evidence base. Off the Couch will be essential reading for those practicing in the field of mental health and will also be useful for anyone involved in the development of mental health and public policies. It will ensure that practitioners and supervisors have a clear insight into how psychoanalysis can be applied in general healthcare

A Hero for All Time?

Book review of: Rousmaniere, K. (2005). Citizen Teacher: The Life and Leadership of Margaret Haley. New York: State University of New York Press

Towards a radiocarbon chronology of the Late-Glacial: Sample selection strategies

This paper outlines a dating program designed to test the reproducibility of radiocarbon dates on different materials of Late-Glacial age (plant macrofossils, fossil beetle remains, and the "humic" and "humin" chemical fractions of limnic sediments) using a combination of radiometric (beta counting) and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) techniques. The results have implications for the design of sampling strategies and for the development of improved dating protocols, both of which are important if a high-precision C-14 chronology for the Late- Glacial is to be achieved

The history of Gloucester, Massachusetts, for the fourth grade

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit