Sonic Spectres: Word Ghosts in Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter and the Digital Map Project, ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’

This article analyzes various ghosts and their connections with the unsaid and said in relation to Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter (2011) and the digital map project, ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’ (Morgan and Lichti, 2016–17). Drawing on Jacques Derrida’s work on spectres, it sugges...

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Main Author: Ceri Morgan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UCL Press 2018-10-01
Series:The London Journal of Canadian Studies
Online Access:https://uclpress.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14324/111.444.ljcs.2018v33.004
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author Ceri Morgan
author_facet Ceri Morgan
author_sort Ceri Morgan
collection DOAJ
description This article analyzes various ghosts and their connections with the unsaid and said in relation to Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter (2011) and the digital map project, ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’ (Morgan and Lichti, 2016–17). Drawing on Jacques Derrida’s work on spectres, it suggests that Thien’s novel offers both negative and positive hauntings, by drawing attention to the far-reaching effects of the Cambodian genocide. It goes on to reflect on absence and presence, voice and body in relation to the digital map, which features recordings of authors reading extracts of their fiction set in Montréal. Arguing that ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’ performs an interplay between material and imaginary geographies, the article proposes that the map offers the possibility of new conceptualizations of Montréal. In so doing, it argues that both it and Dogs at the Perimeter embrace the potentially utopian aspect of spectrality identified by Derrida. This is due to their encouraging readers to think about our collective responsibilities to each other in a world characterized by mobility and migration.
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spelling doaj.art-4e82f43c809e4814b09adbaede402de62023-02-23T10:23:14ZengUCL PressThe London Journal of Canadian Studies2397-09282018-10-0133405710.14324/111.444.ljcs.2018v33.004Sonic Spectres: Word Ghosts in Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter and the Digital Map Project, ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’Ceri MorganThis article analyzes various ghosts and their connections with the unsaid and said in relation to Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter (2011) and the digital map project, ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’ (Morgan and Lichti, 2016–17). Drawing on Jacques Derrida’s work on spectres, it suggests that Thien’s novel offers both negative and positive hauntings, by drawing attention to the far-reaching effects of the Cambodian genocide. It goes on to reflect on absence and presence, voice and body in relation to the digital map, which features recordings of authors reading extracts of their fiction set in Montréal. Arguing that ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’ performs an interplay between material and imaginary geographies, the article proposes that the map offers the possibility of new conceptualizations of Montréal. In so doing, it argues that both it and Dogs at the Perimeter embrace the potentially utopian aspect of spectrality identified by Derrida. This is due to their encouraging readers to think about our collective responsibilities to each other in a world characterized by mobility and migration.https://uclpress.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14324/111.444.ljcs.2018v33.004
spellingShingle Ceri Morgan
Sonic Spectres: Word Ghosts in Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter and the Digital Map Project, ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’
The London Journal of Canadian Studies
title Sonic Spectres: Word Ghosts in Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter and the Digital Map Project, ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’
title_full Sonic Spectres: Word Ghosts in Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter and the Digital Map Project, ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’
title_fullStr Sonic Spectres: Word Ghosts in Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter and the Digital Map Project, ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’
title_full_unstemmed Sonic Spectres: Word Ghosts in Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter and the Digital Map Project, ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’
title_short Sonic Spectres: Word Ghosts in Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter and the Digital Map Project, ‘Fictional Montreal/Montréal fictif’
title_sort sonic spectres word ghosts in madeleine thien s dogs at the perimeter and the digital map project fictional montreal montreal fictif
url https://uclpress.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14324/111.444.ljcs.2018v33.004
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