On Refugee Agency, Bio-Politics, and a New World
This short intervention starts by discussing Giorgio Agamben’s theoretical formulation of ‘bare life,’ popular in refugee studies. Thinking with the case study of Palestinian refugee camps, particularly in the West Bank, it argues that there are clear limitations to the discourse of and bare life....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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York University Libraries
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Refuge |
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| Online Access: | https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/40794 |
| _version_ | 1827786526464933888 |
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| author | Hashem Abushama |
| author_facet | Hashem Abushama |
| author_sort | Hashem Abushama |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
This short intervention starts by discussing Giorgio Agamben’s theoretical formulation of ‘bare life,’ popular in refugee studies. Thinking with the case study of Palestinian refugee camps, particularly in the West Bank, it argues that there are clear limitations to the discourse of and bare life. I argue that ‘bare life’ neither accounts for the multilayered relations of power, particularly colonialism, slavery, and indigenous genocide, that systemically make certain populations more susceptible to its power than others. Nor does it account for the modes of of those who are systemically relegated to its sphere. I conclude by working through some of the theoretical formulations around body politics from the field of Black studies, particularly Alexander Weheliye's 2014 concept of the flesh, in order to explore new directions they may point us towards in refugee studies.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:36:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f1dd7258f67f4a34a49f3bd6da879772 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0229-5113 1920-7336 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:36:40Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | York University Libraries |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Refuge |
| spelling | doaj.art-f1dd7258f67f4a34a49f3bd6da8797722023-10-23T15:39:31ZengYork University LibrariesRefuge0229-51131920-73362021-11-0137210.25071/1920-7336.40794On Refugee Agency, Bio-Politics, and a New WorldHashem Abushama0School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK This short intervention starts by discussing Giorgio Agamben’s theoretical formulation of ‘bare life,’ popular in refugee studies. Thinking with the case study of Palestinian refugee camps, particularly in the West Bank, it argues that there are clear limitations to the discourse of and bare life. I argue that ‘bare life’ neither accounts for the multilayered relations of power, particularly colonialism, slavery, and indigenous genocide, that systemically make certain populations more susceptible to its power than others. Nor does it account for the modes of of those who are systemically relegated to its sphere. I conclude by working through some of the theoretical formulations around body politics from the field of Black studies, particularly Alexander Weheliye's 2014 concept of the flesh, in order to explore new directions they may point us towards in refugee studies. https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/40794fleshbare liferefugee studiesrefugee campsbiopoliticssettler colonialism |
| spellingShingle | Hashem Abushama On Refugee Agency, Bio-Politics, and a New World Refuge flesh bare life refugee studies refugee camps biopolitics settler colonialism |
| title | On Refugee Agency, Bio-Politics, and a New World |
| title_full | On Refugee Agency, Bio-Politics, and a New World |
| title_fullStr | On Refugee Agency, Bio-Politics, and a New World |
| title_full_unstemmed | On Refugee Agency, Bio-Politics, and a New World |
| title_short | On Refugee Agency, Bio-Politics, and a New World |
| title_sort | on refugee agency bio politics and a new world |
| topic | flesh bare life refugee studies refugee camps biopolitics settler colonialism |
| url | https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/40794 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hashemabushama onrefugeeagencybiopoliticsandanewworld |