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Title: Violence and the Body: Race, Gender, and the State by Arturo J. Aldama, Alfred Arteaga ISBN: 0-253-21559-5 Publisher: Indiana University Press Pub. Date: May, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 2
Summary: Theorizing violence
Comment: So far I read only the final essay and the first part of the collection (meaning the first seven essays) and althought the book promises a lot in terms of most recent theory and research, it delivers much less than is to be expected. For one thing, the introduction by Arturo J. Aldama seems to include too much information, listing all those areas in which chicanos are being abused by the state. It would have been much more compelling had the author avoided emotional rhetoric which, instead of appealing to the reader, makes the text exaggerated and all over the place. For example, comparing the treatment of chicanos to snuff movies diminishes the essay's credibility. While the second and third essays do inform on recent history and provide substantial research, the fourth essay is truly annoying. Using skillfully - I admit- the theory of Mary Douglas, Elaine Scarry, Kristeva and Grosz, meaning, all the indispensable feminist thinkers who (with the inclusion of Butler) form a foundation of present-day investigation, Leila Neti manages to write long pages about women smearing their menstrual blood on the prison walls as a protest. My critique is that the essay does not really say much. Other than joggling well cotemporary theory, it reiterates long -known ideas about women reaffirming their power through bodily fluids. In other words, for those who don't know about the event, it would have been interesting to read it as a note. One article that is truly informative and also fun to read is the final essay from the collection on mothers in Juárez, Argentina, and El Salvador. In the era of war propaganda, mothers' perspective is what we all should read in order to reexamine our engagement in armed conflicts abroad.

Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent Critical Essays on Violent Hegemonies
Comment: I have only read a few of the essays in this collection so far, and they are excellent. I especially recommend Catherine Raissiguier's piece on race and domestic partnership in France, Leila Neti's work on the women's dirty protests in Northern Ireland, and the Elizabeth Grosz essay on deconstruction and value. All three are very carefully researched (substantial field analysis), and articulate in driving home their variously made points on the hegemonic power of violence wielded by opressive State mechanisms. I highly recommend this for humanities/social science students, and other readers who are interested in the nexus of minority rights, state violence, and individual civil liberties.