DOCSLIB.ORG

Erkoç, Seçil-Yeni.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Erkoç, Seçil-Yeni.Pdf Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences Department of English Language and Literature English Language and Literature Programme “OUT OF THE MAZE OF DUALISMS”: POSTHUMAN SPACE IN MARIO PETRUCCI AND ALICE OSWALD’S POETRY Seçil ERKOÇ Ph.D. Dissertation Ankara, 2020 “OUT OF THE MAZE OF DUALISMS”: POSTHUMAN SPACE IN MARIO PETRUCCI AND ALICE OSWALD’S POETRY Seçil ERKOÇ Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences Department of English Language and Literature English Language and Literature Programme Ph.D. Dissertation Ankara, 2020 iii To my beloved family… iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, even though I know that I cannot thank her enough, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my advisor Prof. Dr. Huriye Reis for her invaluable guidance throughout this long PhD journey. Without her academic knowledge, insightful suggestions, professional mentorship and moral support it would have been difficult to complete this study. I am most grateful to have studied under her supervision. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Prof. Dr. Burçin Erol, my committee chair and the Head of the English Language and Literature at Hacettepe University, who has always been an inspirational scholar with her never-ending energy, encouragement and academic advice that have illuminated the path of many young academicians. I am particularly indebted to my thesis committee members, Prof. Dr. Hande Seber and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Margaret J-M. Sönmez for their valuable critical feedback, motivational comments and positive attitude that have contributed a lot to the completion of this study. I also extend my sincere thanks to Prof. Dr. Özlem Uzundemir for her constructive suggestions after reading the final manuscript of the thesis. I owe a special word of gratitude to Prof. Dr. Serpil Oppermann whose “Contemporary Trends in Western Philosophy” class during my PhD studies initiated an academic interest in Environmental Humanities and shaped the theoretical background of this study. I would like to extend my thanks to Prof. Dr. Deniz Bozer, Prof. Dr. Aytül Özüm and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şebnem Kaya whose classes have added a lot to my academic knowledge in the field. I am also grateful to Assist. Prof. Dr. Alev Karaduman, Assist. Prof. Dr. Pınar Taşdelen and Assist. Prof. Dr. İmren Yelmiş for their kind and warm- hearted manner. I must also express my most heartfelt gratitude to Prof. Dr. Zeynep Ergun, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lamia Gülçur and Assist. Prof. Dr. Suna Ertuğrul who helped shaping my academic path and encouraged me when I was an inexperienced young student at Boğaziçi University during my undergraduate years. I will always remember them with respect and warmth in my heart. I should also thank Prof. Dr. Esra Melikoğlu and all the faculty members at English Language and Literature Department at İstanbul University for beautiful memories that still accompany me since the completion of my Master’s degree there. I owe special thanks to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Yılmaz Kurt, the Department Chair at Western Languages and Literatures at İnönü University for her invaluable academic and emotional support, kind-hearted manner and belief in me; as well as to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Şahiner who, as the Founder Chair of the department, has been much helpful with his fatherly attitude. I also thank Assist. Prof. Dr. Berkan Ulu and my colleagues in the department for their help and guidance. v I must also thank Dr. Mario Petrucci whose down to earth attitude has been a true source of inspiration. He has not only responded to my questions while writing the first chapter of this study but also sent me a signed copy of his work. I deeply appreciate his support. I would like to extend my special thanks to Çidem Şirin, İlknur Onart, Zeynep Ergin, Zeynep Çelik, Ayşe Gür Geden, Bedia Gafar and Funda Kamiloğlu whose friendship has defied years and distances. I thank Arzu Çevirgen whose kind suggestions and warm hug have always given me strength and peace. I am also grateful to Adem Balcı who never stopped supporting me, and he has always been accommodating in both good and bad times. I would also like to thank my mentor-friend Assist. Prof. Dr. Azime Pekşen Yakar who has patiently guided me through the thorny paths of the PhD journey. I need to further extend my gratitude to Merve Afacan and Ulaş Özgün, with whom I used to share the same office at Hacettepe, for their emotional support and motivation. I deeply thank Emine Akkülah Doğan, Kübra Vural Özbey, Tuğba Şimşek, Nurten Çelik, Sevda Ayva, Cemre Mimoza Bartu, Assist. Prof. Dr. Özlem Özmen and Alican Erbakan for their kind support. I am also grateful to Melek Şaşmaz, Nail Erkoç, Hanife Balcı, Erdem Balcı, Ebru Çalışkan, Özgür Çalışkan, Ömer Asaf Çalışkan and Revna Çalışkan for their emotional support and encouragement not only during my studies but throughout my life. I owe the deepest gratitude to my stand-in ‘grandfather’ Zülfikâr Balcı who passed away during my PhD studies, but his presence has never left us. Most of all, I am forever indebted to my father İsmail Erkoç whose company and comradeship have given me physical and emotional strength, to my mother Sevil Erkoç for her love and unwavering belief in me, and to my brother Furkan Erkoç who has always been our source of laughter with his sense of humour. Finally, I owe special gratitude to dear Monis Iqbal for his unconditional support and for believing in me more than I do myself. Without all these precious people in my life, this study would not have been possible. vi ABSTRACT ERKOÇ, Seçil. “Out of the Maze of Dualisms”: Posthuman Space in Mario Petrucci and Alice Oswald’s Poetry, Ph.D. Thesis, Ankara, 2020. In the light of recent theories of posthumanism that promote a non-anthropocentric perspective, this study examines the poems of contemporary British poets Mario Petrucci and Alice Oswald and argues that they write posthuman poetry which represents posthuman space(s) of becoming, where the human and the nonhuman worlds exist on a non-hierarchical basis. This study thus shows that Petrucci’s posthuman poetry is mainly concerned with representing the ecological problems observed in the Anthropocene, and it illustrates how the human agency is dwarfed by the destructive consequences generated in the ecosystem. In a posthuman context, therefore, Petrucci problematises the human/nonhuman binary by demonstrating the erosion of the anthropocentric world view in the face of environmental crises such as deforestation, global warming, and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Bosco (1999), Heavy Water: A Poem for Chernobyl (2004) and Half Life: Poems for Chernobyl (2004). In these collections, Petrucci underscores the agentic properties of trees and radioactive particles, and thereby challenges the prevalent view of nonhuman matter as a passive entity. Likewise, Alice Oswald introduces a posthuman poetry which moves the reader beyond the human-centred treatment of the natural world. Negating human exceptionalism, Oswald’s Dart (2002) offers a polyphonic meshwork where the voices of alternating human speakers and that of the River Dart flow into one another in a posthuman space. Underlining intersubjective and dialogic interchange between human and nonhuman inhabitants of the Severn Estuary and the lunar cycle, Oswald’s A Sleepwalk on the Severn (2009) also disavows the subject/object binary by forming a posthuman space of becoming that involves a communicative framework. Hence, bringing Petrucci and Oswald together, this study calls attention to the trans-corporeal and polyphonic entanglement of human-nonhuman, subject-object and self-other non-binaries, and it aims to show how poetry, as a literary tool, can help to change the restricted anthropocentric vision of humankind in today’s world. Keywords: Contemporary British Poetry, Posthumanism, Mario Petrucci, Bosco, Heavy Water: A Poem for Chernobyl, Half Life: Poems for Chernobyl, Alice Oswald, Dart, A Sleepwalk on the Severn vii ÖZET ERKOÇ, Seçil. “İkilikler Labirentinden Çıkış”: Mario Petrucci ve Alice Oswald’ın Şiirinde Posthüman Mekân, Doktora Tezi, Ankara, 2020. İnsanı merkeze konumlandırmayan bir bakış açısıyla hareket eden güncel posthümanist teorilerden yola çıkan bu çalışma çağdaş İngiliz şairleri Mario Petrucci ve Alice Oswald’ın şiirlerini inceleler ve bu şairlerin, insanın tahakküm eden bir özne olarak görülemeyeceği posthüman mekân temsilleri yarattığını ve posthüman şiir türünde örnekler verdiğini savunur. Dolayısıyla bu çalışma, Petrucci’nin posthüman şiirinin daha çok Antroposen çağın ekolojik sorunlarına değindiğini ve böylece insanın eyleyici gücünün bu sorunların yol açtığı yıkıcı sonuçlar tarafından nasıl iktidarsızlaştırıldığını gösterir. Posthüman teori bağlamında ele alındığında Petrucci, Bosco (1999), Heavy Water: A Poem for Chernobyl (2004) ve Half Life: Poems for Chernobyl (2004) eserlerinde ormanların yok edilmesi, küresel ısınma ve Çernobil nükleer faciası karşısında insan merkezli düşüncenin nasıl erozyona uğradığını betimler ve insan/insan olmayan karşıtlığını sorgular. Bu eserlerde Petrucci ağaçların ve radyoaktif parçacıkların eyleyici gücüne dikkat çekerek, insan olmayan maddeleri pasif konuma indirgeyen yaygın görüşe karşı çıkar. Benzer şekilde, Alice Oswald okuyucuyu doğanın insan merkezli temsilinin ötesine taşıyarak posthüman şiir türünde örnekler verir. Şairin, insanın biricikliğini olumsuzlayan Dart (2002) eserinde, insanın ve Dart Nehri’nin seslerinin birbirine karıştığı polifonik bir örgü yarattığı görülmektedir. Severn Haliç’inde buluşan
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A New Modelling Framework for Radiation Protection
    UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Geography and Environment RADPOP: A New Modelling Framework for Radiation Protection by Becky Alexis-Martin Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2016 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Geography and Environment Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy RADPOP: A NEW MODELLING FRAMEWORK FOR RADIATION PROTECTION Becky Alexis-Martin Ionising radiation is often useful to our society, and has been implemented for medicine, industry, energy generation and defence. However, nuclear and radiation accidents have the capacity to have a negative impact upon humans and may have a long-lasting legacy due to challenges associated with remediation and the slow decay of radionuclides. It is therefore a priority to ensure that there is adequate emergency preparedness, to prevent and manage any accidental release of ionising radiation to the communities that surround nuclear installations (NI). The emergency planning process includes desktop studies and exercises which are designed to examine the impact of hypothetical scenarios in real-time. However, greater spatiotemporal realism is required to understand the scale of a hypothetical radiation exposure to specific populations in space and time, to anticipate how the behaviour of the population will affect the outcome of an emergency, and to determine the strategy required for its management. This thesis presents a new modelling framework for radiation protection, called RADPOP. This framework combines spatiotemporal aggregate population density subgroup estimates with radionuclide plume dispersal modelling and agent-based modelling, to begin to understand how changes in spatiotemporal population density can influence the likelihood of exposure.
    [Show full text]
  • The Chernobyl Necklace: the Psychosocial Experiences of Female Radiation Emergency Survivors
    Belgeo 2 (2015) Hazards and Disasters ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Becky Alexis-Martin The Chernobyl necklace: the psychosocial experiences of female radiation emergency survivors ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Avertissement Le contenu de ce site relève de la législation française sur la propriété intellectuelle et est la propriété exclusive de l'éditeur. Les œuvres figurant sur ce site peuvent être consultées et reproduites sur un support papier ou numérique sous réserve qu'elles soient strictement réservées à un usage soit personnel, soit scientifique ou pédagogique excluant toute exploitation commerciale. La reproduction devra obligatoirement mentionner l'éditeur, le nom de la revue, l'auteur et la référence du document. Toute autre reproduction est interdite sauf accord préalable de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Revues.org est un portail de revues en sciences humaines et sociales développé par le Cléo, Centre pour l'édition électronique ouverte (CNRS, EHESS, UP, UAPV). ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Recreation of Chernobyl Trauma in Svetlana
    RECREATION OF CHERNOBYL TRAUMA IN SVETLANA ALEKSIYEVICH’S CHERNOBYL’SKAYA MOLITVA _______________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts _____________________________________________________ by DORIS SCRIBNER Dr. Nicole Monnier, Thesis Supervisor MAY 2008 © Copyright by Doris Scribner 2008 All Rights Reserved The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the thesis entitled RECREATION OF CHERNOBYL TRAUMA IN SVETLANA ALEKSIYEVICH’S CHERNOBYL’SKAYA MOLITVA presented by Doris Scribner, a candidate for the degree of master of arts in Russian and Slavonic Studies, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Professor Timothy Langen Professor Nicole Monnier Professor Anatole Mori ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance in this project. In general, I am grateful to the faculty and staff of the German & Russian Department for creating an atmosphere that stimulates students to strive for excellence and provides both moral and practical encouragement along the way. I would like to express appreciation to Jennifer Arnold, the department’s administrative assistant, for solving a myriad of practical problems along the way and for her constant encouragement. I am indebted to Dr. Nicole Monnier for the numerous hours she spent patiently challenging my thinking and reading drafts. She has been an excellent advisor, and I am highly privileged to have had the opportunity to learn from her. I am grateful to Dr. Timothy Langen for discussions on literary devices, unity and Bely and for reading messy manuscripts; to Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Progress in Nuclear Energy 92 (2016) 104E118
    Progress in Nuclear Energy 92 (2016) 104e118 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Progress in Nuclear Energy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/pnucene Physico-chemical properties of Chernobyl lava and their destruction products * Andrey A. Shiryaev a, b, c, , Irina E. Vlasova b, Boris E. Burakov d, Boris I. Ogorodnikov e, Vasily O. Yapaskurt f, Alexey A. Averin a, Alexey V. Pakhnevich g, Yan V. Zubavichus h a Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry RAS, Leninsky pr., 31 korp. 4, Moscow 119071, Russia b Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1 bld. 3, Moscow 119991, Russia c Institute of Ore Geology, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry RAS, Staromonetny per, 35, Moscow 119017, Russia d V.G. Khlopin Radium Institute, 2nd Murinsky av. 28, St.Petersburg 194021, Russia e Karpov Physical Chemistry Institute, Vorontsovo Pole str. 10, Moscow 105064, Russia f Department of Geology, Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia g Paleontological Institute RAS, Profsoyuznaya str. 123, Moscow 117997, Russia h NRC “Kurchatov Institute”, Akademika Kurchatova Sq. 1, Moscow 123098, Russia article info abstract Article history: The paper commemorates 30th anniversary of severe nuclear accident at the 4th Unit of Chernobyl NPP. Received 24 January 2016 Results of the investigation of radioactive glassy lava-like materials formed as a result of the accident at Received in revised form their current state are presented. Complementary analytical methods: vibrational spectroscopy, XAFS, 28 June 2016 SEM, EBSD, X-ray tomography, provide new information about structure of the Chernobyl lava matrix Accepted 1 July 2016 and inclusions. Most of these techniques are applied to the lava samples for the first time and allow to derive consistent model of the lava and to resolve some of existing controversies.
    [Show full text]
  • Midnight in Chernobyl
    Notes PROLOGUE 1 Saturday, April 26, 1986: Precise time given on Alexander Logachev’s dosimetry map of Chernobyl station from April 26, 1986, archive of the Chernobyl Museum, Kiev, Ukraine. 1 Senior Lieutenant Alexander Logachev loved radiation: Alexander Logachev, Com- mander of Chemical and Radiation Reconnaissance, 427th Red Banner Mecha- nized Regiment of the Kiev District Civil Defense, author interview, Kiev, June 1, 2017; Yuli Khariton, Yuri Smirnov, Linda Rothstein, and Sergei Leskov, “The Khariton Version,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 49, no. 4 (1993), p. 30. 1 Logachev knew how to protect himself: Logachev, author interview, 2017. 1 As he sped through the suburbs: Alexander Logachev, The Truth [Истина], mem- oir, 2005, later published in another form in Obozreniye krymskih del, 2007; Colo- nel Vladimir Grebeniuk, commander of 427th Red Banner Mechanized Regiment of the Kiev District Civil Defense, author interview, Kiev, February 9, 2016. 2 But as they finally approached the plant: Logachev, The Truth. 2 Their armored car crawled counterclockwise: Logachev dosimetry map of Cher - nobyl station, the Chernobyl Museum. 3 2,080 roentgen an hour: Logachev, The Truth. Part 1. Birth of a City 1. THE SOVIET PROMETHEUS 7 At the slow beat: Viktor and Valentina Brukhanov (husband and wife; director and heat treatment specialist at Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April 1986), author interviews, Kiev, September 2015 and February 2016. Author visit to Ko- pachi, Ukraine, February 17, 2006. Cognac and the driving of the stake are men- tioned in the documentary film The Construction of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant [Будівництво Чорнобильської АЕС], Ukrainian Studio of Documentary Chronicle Films, 1974.
    [Show full text]
  • Title Multi-Side Approach to the Realities of the Chernobyl NPP
    Multi-side Approach to the Realities of the Chernobyl NPP Title Accident --Summing-up of the Consequences of the Accident Twenty Years After (II)-- Author(s) IMANAKA, T. KUR REPORT OF KYOTO UNIVERSITY RESEARCH Citation REACTOR INSTITUTE (2016), 13: 1-267 Issue Date 2016-10 URL http://hdl.handle.net/2433/227261 掲載された論文等の出版権、複製権および公衆送信権は 原則として京都大学原子炉実験所に帰属する。本誌は京 Right 都大学学術情報リポジトリに登録・公開するものとする 。 http://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/ Type Research Paper Textversion publisher Kyoto University ISSN 2189-7107 KURRI-EKR-13 PRINT ISSN 1342-0852 KURRI- KR-139 Multi-side Approach to the Realities of the Chernobyl NPP Accident - Summing-up of the Consequences of the Accident Twenty Years After (II) - チェルノブイリ原発事故の実相解明への多角的アプローチ － 20 年を機会とする事故被害のまとめ (II) － Edited by : Imanaka T. 編集：今中哲二 京 都 大 学 原 子 炉 実 験 所 Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University Multi-side Approach to the Realities of the Chernobyl NPP Accident - Summing-up of the Consequences of the Accident Twenty Years After (II) - Report of a research grant from the Toyota Foundation (November 2004 – October 2006) Project leader Imanaka T. May 2008 チェルノブイリ原発事故の実相解明への多角的アプローチ － 20 年を機会とする事故被害のまとめ(II) － トヨタ財団助成研究 （2004 年 11 月～2006 年 10 月） 研究報告書（英語版） 研究代表者 今中哲二 200８年５月 Preface This is the English version report of the international collaboration study, “Multi-side Approach to the Realities of the Chernobyl NPP Accident: Summing-up of the Consequences of the Accident Twenty Years” which was carried out in November 2004 – October 2006 supported by a research grant from the Toyota Foundation. Twenty three articles by authors of various professions are included about Chernobyl. The Japanese version was already published in August 2007, which contains 24 articles.
    [Show full text]
  • Multi-Side Approach to the Realities of the Chernobyl NPP Accident - Summing-Up of the Consequences of the Accident Twenty Years After (II)
    Multi-side Approach to the Realities of the Chernobyl NPP Accident - Summing-up of the Consequences of the Accident Twenty Years After (II) - Report of a research grant from the Toyota Foundation (November 2004 – October 2006) Project leader Imanaka T. May 2008 チェルノブイリ原発事故の実相解明への多角的アプローチ － 20 年を機会とする事故被害のまとめ(II) － トヨタ財団助成研究 （2004 年 11 月～2006 年 10 月） 研究報告書（英語版） 研究代表者 今中哲二 200８年５月 Preface This is the English version report of the international collaboration study, “Multi-side Approach to the Realities of the Chernobyl NPP Accident: Summing-up of the Consequences of the Accident Twenty Years” which was carried out in November 2004 – October 2006 supported by a research grant from the Toyota Foundation. Twenty three articles by authors of various professions are included about Chernobyl. The Japanese version was already published in August 2007, which contains 24 articles. (http://www.rri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/NSRG/tyt2004/CherTYT2004.htm) Out of them, 12 articles are included in both versions. As a specialist of nuclear engineering, I have been investigating the Chernobyl accident since its beginning. Before the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl, I hoped to start a new project to try to make an overview of “Chernobyl disaster” by collecting various viewpoints of persons who have been involved in Chernobyl in their own ways: scientists, journalists, NGO activists, sufferers etc. I thought that a new image of Chernobyl could be constructed through learning different viewpoints. Fortunately the Toyota Foundation supported my proposal. I think we could make a unique report about Chernobyl. In addition to this report, the following two reports were already published through the previous collaborations: ¾ Research Activities about the Radiological Consequences of the Chernobyl NPS Accident and Social Activities to Assist the Sufferers by the Accident.
    [Show full text]
  • Chernobyl's Radioactive Memory
    Chernobyl’s Radioactive Memory: Confronting the Impact of Nuclear Fallout by Haley J. Laurila A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Slavic Languages and Literatures) in the University of Michigan 2020 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Herbert J. Eagle, Chair Professor Mikhail Krutikov Professor Michael Makin Professor Sarah Phillips, Indiana University Svitlana Rogovyk Haley J. Laurila [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1454-5979 © Haley J. Laurila 2020 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my husband who is my biggest cheerleader. ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following people, without whom this dissertation would not have been possible. First and foremost, my committee, who put up with my last-minute changes and befuddling lack of administrative organiZation. Their helpful comments proved incredibly insightful. I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues, who provided vital moral support and whose enthusiastic encouragement kept me motivated. For their help with childcare, I thank my family, without which I would not have been able to find the time to write this dissertation. Most of all, I would like. to thank my husband, Evan, who has always been supportive, no matter how disruptive and chaotic the writing process became. iii Table of Contents Dedication ii Acknowledgements iii Abstract v Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Chernobyl’s Documentary Half-Lives: Invisibility and the Shaping of Memory 35 Chapter 2 Materiality and Memory: The Rhetoric of Chernobyl’s Memorial Spaces 110 Chapter 3 A Terrible Kaleidoscope: The Anthropocene Lyric in Chernobyl Poetry 188 Chapter 4 Virtual Encounters: Prosthetic Memories of Chernobyl in Popular Culture 276 Conclusion Chernobyl’s Radioactive Legacy: Nuclear Waste and Anti-Nuclear Activism 364 iv Abstract This dissertation examines the accretive violence wrought by nuclear power on bodies and spaces through a study of Chernobyl’s transnational memory.
    [Show full text]
  • Alyson Miller and Cassandra Atherton 'The Chernobyl Hibakusha': Dark
    Miller & Atherton Dark poetry, the ineffable and abject realities Deakin University Alyson Miller and Cassandra Atherton ‘The Chernobyl hibakusha’: Dark poetry, the ineffable and abject realities Abstract: Chernobyl occupies a complex space in the Western cultural imagination, complicated by science fiction fantasies, crime thrillers, military-style video games, haunting photo installations, and a recent HBO drama series focusing on the nuclear disaster. While the devastation of the reactor is often regarded as a ‘dark metonym for the fate of the Soviet Union’ (Milne 2017: 95), the nuclear crisis is also at the centre of increasing anxieties about the ‘fate of future generations, species extinction and the damage done to the environment’ (93). Indeed, the enormity of Chernobyl, like Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Fukushima, is often regarded as beyond representation. By examining a range of poems produced by Chernobylites or derived from witness testimonies, we argue that in confronting the unthinkable, poetry is uniquely able to convey the inexpressible and abject horror of nuclear destruction. Further, in considering the potential for commodification in writing about sites of tragedy, we define poetry about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster as an example of ‘dark poetry’ – that is, poetry exploring or attempting to imagine or reanimate examples of dark tourism. We specifically explore this example of dark poetry to contend that while it often lobbies for nuclear international cooperation, it can also be read as exploitative and romanticising the macabre spectacle of nuclear explosion. Biographical notes: Alyson Miller is a prize-winning prose poet and academic who teaches writing and literature at Deakin University, Melbourne. Her critical and creative work, which focuses on a literature of extremities, has appeared in both national and international publications, including three books of prose poetry – Dream Animals, Pika-Don and Strange Creatures – as well as a critical monograph, Haunted by Words: Scandalous Texts.
    [Show full text]
  • And Actions for a Severe Accident in a Nuclear Power Plant
    Nuclear Safety 2021 Long-Term Management and Actions for a Severe Accident in a Nuclear Power Plant Status Report NEA Nuclear Safety Long-Term Management and Actions for a Severe Accident in a Nuclear Power Plant Status Report © OECD 2021 NEA No. 7506 NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 37 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Korea, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Commission takes part in the work of the OECD. OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering and research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and standards agreed by its members. This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the member countries of the OECD or its Nuclear Energy Agency.
    [Show full text]
  • And Actions for a Severe Accident in a Nuclear Power Plant
    Nuclear Safety 2021 Long-Term Management and Actions for a Severe Accident in a Nuclear Power Plant Status Report NEA Nuclear Safety Long-Term Management and Actions for a Severe Accident in a Nuclear Power Plant Status Report © OECD 2021 NEA No. 7506 NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 37 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Korea, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Commission takes part in the work of the OECD. OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering and research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and standards agreed by its members. This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the member countries of the OECD or its Nuclear Energy Agency.
    [Show full text]
  • The Chernobyl Necklace: the Psychosocial Experiences of Female Radiation Emergency Survivors Les Impacts Psychosociaux Des Accidents Nucléaires Sur Les Femmes
    Belgeo Revue belge de géographie 1 | 2015 Hazards and Disasters: Learning, Teaching, Communication and Knowledge Exchange The Chernobyl necklace: the psychosocial experiences of female radiation emergency survivors Les impacts psychosociaux des accidents nucléaires sur les femmes Becky Alexis-Martin Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/15875 DOI: 10.4000/belgeo.15875 ISSN: 2294-9135 Publisher: National Committee of Geography of Belgium, Société Royale Belge de Géographie Electronic reference Becky Alexis-Martin, « The Chernobyl necklace: the psychosocial experiences of female radiation emergency survivors », Belgeo [Online], 1 | 2015, Online since 30 June 2015, connection on 20 April 2019. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/15875 ; DOI : 10.4000/belgeo.15875 This text was automatically generated on 20 April 2019. Belgeo est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. The Chernobyl necklace: the psychosocial experiences of female radiation emer... 1 The Chernobyl necklace: the psychosocial experiences of female radiation emergency survivors Les impacts psychosociaux des accidents nucléaires sur les femmes Becky Alexis-Martin Introduction 1 A modern mythology surrounds the perception of risk from exposure to ionising radiation. Fear of radiation may originate from its implementation as weaponry, during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan (Slovic, 2012). However, the unusual properties, potentially mutagenic capacity and comparative newness of the radioactive materials used for energy production and defence may also contribute towards this concern. The perception of radiation as unnatural and “other” causes greater anxiety towards this hazard than most, regardless of likelihood and scale of exposure (Mobbs, Muirhead and Harrison, 2010).
    [Show full text]