Description
Book SynopsisKimberly Mair is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Lethbridge, Canada. She is the author of
Guerrilla Aesthetics: Art, Memory, and the West German Urban Guerrilla (2016).
Trade ReviewMair’s
The Biopolitics of Care in Second World War Britain casts new light on how Mass-Observation influenced who or what considered worthy subjects of care. Using extensive archival research into treatment of various subjects of wartime rhetoric, including humans and animals, Mair underscores the malleability of our notions of what is a worthy citizen-subject, and identifies new forms of biopolitical power that emerge in the new milieu of a war with a devastating effect on British civilian populations. Mair’s book is critical for scholars interested in the advancement of biopolitical power or those interested in how Mass-Observation’s politicization of the everyday manifests itself in rhetoric and policy. * Megan Faragher, Associate Professor of English, Wright State University, USA *
Kimberley Mair’s
The Biopolitics of Care in Second World War Britain provides us with both a fresh way of thinking about the experience of the British ‘Home Front’ and what is in effect a brilliant new history of the Mass Observation movement. Well-researched, critically intelligent and full of insight, this book not only consistently made me think again about topics I’ve researched for twenty years but left me feeling inspired once again about the alternative futures she unearths within the legacy of Mass Observation. * Nick Hubble, Director of Brunel Centre for Contemporary Writing, Brunel University, UK *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Introduction 1. Keeping Watch over the Population: Careful Intelligence Saves Lives 2. Lousy Guests and Good Hosts: Atrocity Stories of Evacuation 3. Lazy Dogs, Essential Cats, and Useful Forms of Care 4. Confused Animacies: Who is Caring for Whom? 5. Careless Homes Cost Lives: The Home as a Caring Agent Bibliography Index
