Tragedy, death and the spectator
The American philosopher Hugh J. Silverman (1945-2013) was a prominent figure in continental philosophy, particularly in forging new paths in the relation between philosophy and literature. In this posthumously published volume Subjects and Simulations (Lexington 2015) co-edited by Silverman, sixteen contributors address issues of representation and politics.
Senior Research Robin May Schott (Peace, Risk and Violence) contributes with an article on spectators who witness tragedy in personal encounters or through technology. She discusses how the repeated broadcasting of the video-tape of the beating of Rodney King in 1991 transformed an image of police brutality to purportedly justified violence. Schott argues that the dislocation of images of suffering from context makes viewers complicit with the dominant political frames of interpretation.
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