Slavoj Žižek, Violence

Kelsey Wood (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.07: French Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Averis (University of Western Australia), Hugo Azerad (University of Cambridge), Patrick ffrench (King's College London), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Akane Kawakami (Birkbeck, University of London), Siobhán McIlvanney (King's College London), Sinan Richards (King's College London), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Domains

Critical Theory
Cultural Studies

Dates

First circulation or publication 2008

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Resources

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In his book

Violence

(2008), Slavoj Žižek begins by distinguishing between different forms of violence.

Subjective

violence (e.g., crime, terror) is perceived as a disturbance of the “normal” nonviolent state of things. Subjective violence is the most visible kind of violence, and subjective violence is performed by an easily recognized agent, such as a criminal or a terrorist.

Objective violence, however, is more pervasive, but hidden. Objective violence is the invisible violence that is inherent to the allegedly nonviolent, “normal” state of things (Violence, p. 2). Moreover, there are two kinds of objective violence: symbolic violence and systemic violence. Examples of objective violence in its symbolic form include the racism embodied in language and symbolic practices.

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2610 words

Citation: Wood, Kelsey. "Violence". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 April 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24952, accessed 03 December 2024.]

Slavoj Žižek, Violence

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