Regarding the war, two points:
- the first thing I notice is the reluctance of the powers that be to
admit the war has started. At each new level of seriousness (withdrawal
from diplomatic negotiations, cruise missiles targeted at Iraqi
leaders), our leaders still seem to suggest that the war hasn't *really*
started yet as though it requires some kind of performative enunciation
to get going.
- I mentioned (i.e. as opposed to used) Baudrillard's Guerre du Golfe
n'a pas eu lieu in a lecture this year. Most of my students were about
8 years old at the time of the first Gulf war, and they responded to
Baudrillard's argument much as they do to everything else: with blank
faces and determined silence.
Douglas Morrey
Lecturer in French
School of Modern Languages
University of Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU
Tel: +44 (0)191 2225054
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