Post-9/11 Networks of Biopower: Surveillance and Resistance In the Works of Juli Zeh

<p>This thesis looks at acts of surveillance and the resistance to them in contemporary German fiction, specifically in two of Juli Zeh's novels, <em>Spieltrieb</em> and <em>Corpus Delicti</em>. Using Foucault's theories of discipline and punish and of biopower networks, the focus of this thesis is on the mechanisms of surveillance and regulation that govern everyday life in contemporary German society. In both texts, control is exerted over individuals who have also internalized the systems of observation and regulation. The main characters in the two novels are presented as outsiders who do not conform to society and its set rules. Ada and Alev in <em>Spieltrieb</em> and Mia and Moritz in <em>Corpus Delicti</em> resist against the systems that try to keep them under control. Even though the systems ultimately prevail, the characters' actions represent hope because they call for resistance in a post-9/11 world where almost every aspect of daily life is observed, recorded, and controlled.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

MA

Level thesis:degree_level

Campus Access Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Year

2009

Author dc:creator

• Fedtke, Jana

Contributors dc:contributor

• Agnes C. Mueller

• Arts and Humanities
• German Language and Literature
• Biopower
• Gender Studies
• German Literature
• Post-9/11
• Resistance
• Surveillance

Statement dc:rights

• © 2009, Jana Fedtke

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/25

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarcommons.sc.edu:etd-1026