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Overview"We live today within a system in which state and corporate power aim to render space flat, transparent, and uniform, for only then can it be truly controlled. The gaze of power and the commodity form are capable of infiltrating even the darkest of corners, and often, we invite them into our most private spaces. We do so as a matter of convenience, but also to placate ourselves and cope with the alienation inherent in our everyday lives. The resulting dominant space can best be termed totalitarian. It is space stripped of uniqueness, deprived of the ""spatial aura"" necessary for authentic experience. In Totalitarian Space and the Destruction of Aura, Saladdin Ahmed sets out to help us grasp what has been lost before no trace remains. He draws attention to that which we might prefer not to see, but despite the bleakness of this indictment of reality, the book also offers a message of hope. Namely, it is only once we comprehend the magnitude of the threat to our spatial experience and our own complicity in sustaining this system that we can begin to resist the totalizing forces at work." Full Product DetailsAuthor: Saladdin AhmedPublisher: State University of New York Press Imprint: State University of New York Press Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.227kg ISBN: 9781438472928ISBN 10: 1438472927 Pages: 242 Publication Date: 02 January 2020 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In stock  We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately. Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Notes on Totalitarianism A Critique of Dominant Understandings of “Totalitarianism” Classical vs. Advanced Totalitarianism Totalitarian Mechanization and Standardization Closing 2. The Production of Space Space as Production Lefebvre’s Spatial Dialectic Dominated Space 3. Spatial Technologies of Power Transparency “Enlightenment Is Totalitarian” Panopticism The Gaze Heterotopia or the Poetics of Spatial Aura 4. Conceptualizing Aura The Indefinability of Aura Aura as a Negative Notion Aura as Trace Returning the Gaze Lost Trace Aura as Veil Aura as Distance Conclusion 5. The Destruction of Aura and Its Political Implications Auralessness and New Absolutism Fetish vs. Aura Renavigation 6. Images and the Production of Totalitarian Space Images as Means of Creating Hyperreality Images as Means of Panopticism Images as Means of Producing and Maintaining the Omnipresent Cult Images as Repetitive Patterns Simulating Spatial Sameness The Commodity and the Spectacle 7. In the Absence of Aura: Spatial Dialectics of Despair and Hope Auratic Negativity and Space Notes References IndexReviewsThis is a clear and important contribution to the existing literature and contemporary political thought in general. It expounds upon Benjamin's analysis of the aura in his famous essay, 'Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,' and, importantly, illustrates how this concept is incredibly pertinent to our society today. - Mary Caputi, author of Feminism and Power: The Need for Critical Theory Author InformationSaladdin Ahmed is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Siena College. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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