Blasphemers or Profaners? Shaping Deviance in the French and British Traditions
Blasphemy is an offence which is specifically identified with the creation and discussion of discourse. Thus it is not surprising that it has regularly been a battleground for cultural theorists and those interested in the investigation of the creation of the modernist individual. This paper investi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
2005-12-01
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| Series: | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/14098 |
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| Summary: | Blasphemy is an offence which is specifically identified with the creation and discussion of discourse. Thus it is not surprising that it has regularly been a battleground for cultural theorists and those interested in the investigation of the creation of the modernist individual. This paper investigates the virtues and vices of such theoretical approaches to blasphemy and indicates some possible paradigms for the wider study of deviance. In particular a comparison of approaches emanating from English and French traditions is especially illuminating. The empiricist Whig progressive model which emphasises the development of tolerance in the nineteenth century can be contrasted with models emanating from France which emphasise the creation of modern surveillance and the destruction of the subject and his individual response. Ultimately both these models have important repercussions upon how modern governments and legislators think about verbal and written dissidence. |
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| ISSN: | 0220-5610 2271-6149 |