Résumés
Abstract
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.
Keywords:
- refugee camps,
- flesh,
- bare life,
- refugee studies,
- biopolitics,
- settler colonialism
Résumé
Cette courte intervention débute par une discussion de la formulation théorique de Giorgio Agamben sur la «vie nue», populaire dans les études sur les réfugiés. À partir de l’étude de cas des camps de réfugiés palestiniens, en particulier en Cisjordanie, elle soutient qu’il existe des limitations claires au discours de la biopolitique et de la vie nue. Je soutiens que la «vie nue» ne rend pas compte des rapports de pouvoir à plusieurs niveaux, en particulier le colonialisme, l’esclavage, et le génocide des autochtones, qui rendent certaines populations plus vulnérables que d’autres à son pouvoir. Elle ne rend pas compte non plus des modes de sociabilité de ceux qui sont relégués à sa sphère. Je conclus en examinant certaines des formulations théoriques entourant les politiques du corps dans le champ des Black Studies, et particulièrement le concept de «chair» chez Alexander Weheliye (2014) afin d’explorer les nouvelles avenues qu’elles pourraient ouvrir dans les études sur les réfugiés.
Parties annexes
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