AHRC-funded research inspires public lecture

A public lecture at the University of Leicester, based on research funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), has explored the ethics and politics of representation in light of political, commercial and journalistic manipulations of words and images following 9/11.

Dr Emma Kimberley of the School of English at the University of Leicester gave her doctoral inaugural lecture, entitled ‘After 9/11: Representation in a Climate of Fear’, which built on her AHRC-funded doctoral thesis, on Wednesday 10 February. The lecture was free and open to the public.

During the lecture, Dr Kimberley analysed literary and theoretical responses to attempts by politicians, businesses and the mass media to control representations of the 9/11 attacks and the ‘war on terror’ in order to promote their own ends, whether commercial or ideological.
 
The lecture introduced poets and theorists who challenge the increasing politicisation and commercialisation of language and the use of words and images targeted to manipulate public opinion. Those featured included poets Jorie Graham and Claudia Rankine and theorists Judith Butler and Slavoj Žižek, who are working to expose contemporary representations that seek to control the development of collective perceptions, memories and emotions – especially fear – by investigating the techniques through which this control is maintained.
 
Dr Kimberley commented:
 
“Every attempt at representation is contextualised by a conceptual frame, whether this is acknowledged or not, and many commentators are coming back to the idea that to present any representation as though it is unmediated or transparent is not only untruthful, but also profoundly unethical.
 
“Political decisions after 9/11 have had an undeniable impact on contemporary literature and visual representation. The attacks may have united Americans under the flag, but the effects of this new unity have not been universally positive.”
 
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AHRC Media Contact Tom Chlebik: t.chlebik@ahrc.ac.uk  Tel: 0117 9876 816

Notes to editors:

Arts & Humanities Research Council: Each year the AHRC provides approximately £102 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,350 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.