The Power of the Word: Culture, Censorship and Voice (original) (raw)
Related papers
Redefining Censorship: A Feminist View
Art Journal, 1991
There is a gaping discrepancy between the way censorship has been defined and discussed and the way it has actually functioned through customs, practices, and rules throughout its long history in Western culture. Despite the rampant and ongoing censorship of artists themselves, consistently manifested in the destruction of entire cultures, public discourse has limited the definition to the suppression, removal, or alteration of artists' works or the conditions of their display after the fact—when those works have already been accepted or installed for public exposition.1 This focus on overt, after-the-fact acts is actually a conservative brand of censorship based on the ideological assumption that public expression is a “natural” entitlement of the dominant (i.e., white, heterosexist Western male) perspective. Its double standard serves to resuscitate a dying patriarchy while conveniently ignoring the most pervasive and obliterating uses to which censorship has systematically been put.
1985
This book is a collection of papers by (mostly) Canadian feminists, whose aim is to provide a critique of feminist 'anti-pornography theory' (Snitow) and then indicate what actions this implies for feminists. The contributors are unanimous in the view that "difficulties and contradictions notwithstanding, for women freedom 1 ies not in accepting censorship, but in repudiating i t " (Burstyn, Introduction). In light of the critique of feminist anti-pornography theory the authors advocate hw feminists (and men who support them) ought to proceed in dealing with tbe thorny issue of pornography-an issue Callwood sees as having produced a schism within the feminist movement.
Editorial: Ambiguities of censorship. An international perspective
2010
When we think about censorship today, vivid images of brutal governments' repression of free speech around the world might come to mind. The works of courageous artists and activists like Ai Wei Wei-an outspoken critic of China's Communist rulers-are constant reminders of the curbing of dissent perpetrated by the Chinese government. Wei Wei's criticism has put him on a collision course with the Chinese government, despite his artistic international fame. In fact, he was assaulted and beaten by the police after having investigated and documented the names of more than 5000 children who had died under shoddy school buildings in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Similarly, we cannot forget the appalling murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, 'guilty' of having unfolded horrific stories about abductions and Russian military abuses against civilians in Chechnya. Likewise, we are aware that Iran has in place one of the most extensive internet filtering system in the world (OpenNet Initiative, 2007) that proved its strength when protests erupted over the recent disputed election victory of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Censorship and Cultural Regulation: Mapping the Territory
The revival of censorship studies over the last two decades is due not only to the implosion of the Soviet bloc and the ensuing release of official records from East European states for research purposes, but also to conceptual changes in our understanding of censorship. Proponents of the so-called ’new censorship’ have advocated a view of censorship much broader than the traditional one by insisting that apart from institutionalized, interventionist (’regulatory’) censorship, social interaction and communication is affected by ’constitutive’, or ’structural’ censorship: forms of discourse regulation which influence what can be said by whom, to whom, how, and in which context. However, widening the concept ’censorship’ in this way carries the risk of equating censorship with any kind of social control, thus endangering its heuristic potential. The analysis of censorship should adopt Wittgenstein’s concept of family resemblance to distinguish between central and peripheral characteristics of censorship, in addition to using the communication model as a systematic basis for censorial practices and effects.
International Encyclopedia of Linguistic Anthropology, 2020
Censorship is generally understood as formal restrictions, in some way endorsed or supported by the state, on expressive acts that are perceived as threats to public order. Modern discourses against censorship tend to be informed by an Enlightenment and liberal tradition of viewing free speech as both a human right and integral to just governance. However, every society regulates communicative or expressive acts in a variety of ways, including many that are neither institutional nor subject to discussion. A linguistic anthropological approach to censorship engages with different communities ideas about the nature and function of transgressive acts, studies the multidimensional nature of communication to understand the effects of these acts in different contexts, and analyzes contradictions and biases in awareness to advocate for the linguistically marginalized.
“The Ways of Censorship: New Trends, New Challenges”
"The Ways of Censorship" is an introductory essay to the following volume: Iannaccaro, Giuliana and Iamartino, Giovanni (eds), Enforcing and Eluding Censorship. British and Anglo-Italian Perspectives, Newcastle upon Tyne, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014.
Literary Censorship: The Changing Standards
Censorship is a double-edged sword that has bred legal, political, and moral wrangling across the globe. The basic controversy, which harkens back to ancient times, stems from the motivation and intention of the censoring authority. The censoring authority controls literary and informational contents, based on the promulgated political, moral, religious, and cultural values of the land. Historically, the politicians, judiciary, clergymen, powerful groups, and the public at large were involved in guarding public morals and rooting out obscenity. The obscenity laws outlawed the selling, purchasing, printing, importing, and mailing of obscene items. However, in today's day and age, the Internet has made it difficult to control the circulation of what was once considered obscene. Censorship has evolved to monitor and control online content to keep abreast with the changing times; nevertheless, it does not always effectively control the questionable content. Moreover, in the past, cultural values and demography played a vital role in deciding what needed to be censored. Internet, as an electronic global village, has redefined demography; therefore, the global as well as indigenous standards upon which literature were once analyzed for censorship is now blurred. The promise of free speech has given power to the people that live in mature democracies. However, there should be a self-imposed code of conduct so that the right of free speech does not infringe on others' right of existence. This paper reviews censorship, tracing its historical path and evolution over the years, its changing standards, and its pros and cons. Lastly, the paper discusses the need to conjoin freedom of speech with the responsibility to protect the diverse cultures, religions, races, sects, genders, and especially the young generation.
I provide an overview of some of the arguments in Sue Curry Jansen’s classic 1988 book Censorship: The Knot that Binds Knowledge and Power. Then I describe some of my own areas of interest connecting with censorship: suppression of dissent, power and scientific knowledge, and whistleblowing. The connections with censorship in these areas are compatible with Sue’s framework, while also suggesting avenues for broadening its application.