This article argues that the encounter between Andromache and Ulysses in Seneca's Troades engages with the genre of declamation to juxtapose two different discourses surrounding torture: one... Show moreThis article argues that the encounter between Andromache and Ulysses in Seneca's Troades engages with the genre of declamation to juxtapose two different discourses surrounding torture: one focussed on torture's connection to truth, the other on its connection to tyranny. It describes how the Greek general Ulysses, convinced of the danger of letting the Trojan prince Astyanax live, threatens his mother Andromache with physical torture in order to ascertain the truth of Astyanax's whereabouts. However, Ulysses is countered by Andromache's rhetoric, through which, the article shows, she depicts herself as the archetypal heroic victim of a tyrant. It discusses how Ulysses innovates with an effective psychological torture in response. The article sets the scenario within the broader rhetorical context and demonstrates how it reflects debate among the contemporary elite about the necessity of, and the risks from, the rising use of torture by the Julio-Claudian emperors, a debate which resonates in the modern era. Show less
Cinema and society interact. This given becomes fascinating when socio-politically sensitive issues are adapted in films that confront spectators with the frames of reference they use to make sense... Show moreCinema and society interact. This given becomes fascinating when socio-politically sensitive issues are adapted in films that confront spectators with the frames of reference they use to make sense of society. This thesis studies how North-American and European films depict political torture in the context of the ‘War on Terror’. It starts from the debate that was held in the political and public domain concerning the actual torture of suspects of terrorist activities, and analyses political torture in film as a fictionalised, stylised form of such violence. In this way, it shows how public debates, politics, and art convene in cinema to engage with contemporary realities we, as societies, find difficult to witness and process. The analyses focus on War on Terror films made between 2004 and 2012. They incorporate ethical, political, and moral questions about the use of political torture, while addressing the West’s share in the geopolitics of the War on Terror. Ultimately, contributions are made to the fields of film narratology and cultural theory, as well as to current debates about the role of cinema in society: cinema as art object, as commercial artifice, and as commentary on socio- politically sensitive issues. Show less
The fight against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is of fundamental importance, which has been broadly acknowledged, and resulted in different ways to pursue the... Show moreThe fight against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is of fundamental importance, which has been broadly acknowledged, and resulted in different ways to pursue the effectuation of this prohibition. The coexistence of multiple monitoring mechanisms in the same field can raise important questions concerning overlap, collision and alignment. The subject of this study relates to the coexistence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and focuses on the relation between these bodies from an organisational, terminological and normative perspective. It concentrates on answering the question how the relationship between the ECtHR and the CPT can be described and whether the current status between these bodies contributes to an effective and efficient protection of detainees against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Show less
