Seminar 13: Encounters with Violence: The Rhetoric of Witnessing

Leaders: Annie Hill (University of Texas at Austin) and Catherine Palczewski (University of Northern Iowa)

What does it mean to be a witness, a spectator, a voyeur, or a bystander? What are the in/actions
involved in these ways of looking? This RSA seminar will explore the role of agency and action
when encountering violence directed at others.

Images of violent events on mass and social media reach millions of viewers who cannot reach
the scenes they see. Sometimes activism, engagement, and outreach manifest in the aftermath of
violence. But no response is guaranteed. Thus, the intersecting set of questions that this seminar
asks include:

• • Which kinds of violence receive media and public attention, generate a collective sense
    of responsibility, and induce people to (re)act?
  • How do different publics define and discern violence?
  • Which violent events rise to the occasion of outside intervention, and which are deemed
    better left alone?
  • What arguments are offered and, just as important, what are the grounds given, for the
    positions taken to get involved or to stay out of it and “not choose a side?”

We pose these questions to foreground the rhetorical, moral, and ethical dimensions that inform
and structure what people do when witnessing, engaging in voyeurism, or standing by violence.
We will also highlight issues of intimacy and complicity that haunt views of violent encounters.

Each day of the seminar will be organized around seminar-style discussions of assigned readings,
case study analyses, featured presentations, and workshopping participants’ projects. Participants
will be expected to submit a working draft of an essay in early May that will be shared with other
members of the seminar.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Annie Hill ([email protected]) or Dr. Cate Palczewski ([email protected]).

Note from the organizers:
As per previous workshops, there may be pre-reading and pre-work required before June. Your leaders will reach out to you some time after registration with additional details.

There will be no A/V equipment available in this seminar. The seminar leaders encourage participants to bring charged devices with their preferred hardware and software pre-loaded, especially for any participants who have accessibility needs. You should indicate any accessibility needs on your registration form.