Date of Award
2011
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Theory and Criticism
Supervisor
Dr.Nandita Biswas-Mellamphy
Abstract
This thesis explores Ashley Smith’s experiences in the Canadian Correctional Facilities, and attempts to explore the ways in which her experiences were enframed by a heavily biopoliticized system. I demonstrate the ways in which, when traditional avenues of recourse failed, Ashley used her body and the objects in her seclusion cell as a means of communicating her dissatisfaction. Several theorists have thought about the intersection o f made objects and selfhood - Hannah Arendt and Elaine Scarry among them - and I use these theorists, along with Julia Kristeva and Jacques Rancière, to consider that 'speech’ can manifest itself in many different ways.
Recommended Citation
Rooney, Laura Colleen, "Contemplating Suicide: Responding to the Life and Death of Ashley Smith" (2011). Digitized Theses. 3288.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/3288