Blasphemy and Censorship. The Historical Importance of Passive and Active Models
This article revisits some of the author’s established theorising around the issue of the crime of blasphemy and how it has been interpreted in the west since the medieval period. In particular Nash’s theory of “passive” and “active” blasphemy is examined to see how far this analysis might be extend...
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| Language: | English |
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Presses universitaires de Rennes
2013-05-01
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| Series: | Revue LISA |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5173 |
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| author | David Nash |
| author_facet | David Nash |
| author_sort | David Nash |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article revisits some of the author’s established theorising around the issue of the crime of blasphemy and how it has been interpreted in the west since the medieval period. In particular Nash’s theory of “passive” and “active” blasphemy is examined to see how far this analysis might be extended to embrace and potentially explain the wider phenomenon of censorship. Through examining the history of blasphemy and its formulation by individuals and institutions in authority it potentially becomes possible to explain and contextualise the motivation of those who censor. The issue of power and intention loom large and are investigated through dialogues with the ideas of Foucault and Norbert Elias. The article ends by speculating how the idea of the “passive”, in which individuals simply expect protection from harm without playing a part in assessing or gauging its level of real threat, has returned to the perception of blasphemy in the 21st century. Likewise speculation about whether this is a potential issue in the wider history and contemporary study of wider censorship is invited. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a7641bacb1e8496dba0495a4c38dbf8e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1762-6153 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-05-01 |
| publisher | Presses universitaires de Rennes |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revue LISA |
| spelling | doaj-art-a7641bacb1e8496dba0495a4c38dbf8e2025-01-06T09:03:12ZengPresses universitaires de RennesRevue LISA1762-61532013-05-0111110.4000/lisa.5173Blasphemy and Censorship. The Historical Importance of Passive and Active ModelsDavid NashThis article revisits some of the author’s established theorising around the issue of the crime of blasphemy and how it has been interpreted in the west since the medieval period. In particular Nash’s theory of “passive” and “active” blasphemy is examined to see how far this analysis might be extended to embrace and potentially explain the wider phenomenon of censorship. Through examining the history of blasphemy and its formulation by individuals and institutions in authority it potentially becomes possible to explain and contextualise the motivation of those who censor. The issue of power and intention loom large and are investigated through dialogues with the ideas of Foucault and Norbert Elias. The article ends by speculating how the idea of the “passive”, in which individuals simply expect protection from harm without playing a part in assessing or gauging its level of real threat, has returned to the perception of blasphemy in the 21st century. Likewise speculation about whether this is a potential issue in the wider history and contemporary study of wider censorship is invited.https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5173Coleridge Samuel TaylorFreethinkerNorbert EliasFoucault MichelBakhtin Mikhailjudgment |
| spellingShingle | David Nash Blasphemy and Censorship. The Historical Importance of Passive and Active Models Revue LISA Coleridge Samuel Taylor Freethinker Norbert Elias Foucault Michel Bakhtin Mikhail judgment |
| title | Blasphemy and Censorship. The Historical Importance of Passive and Active Models |
| title_full | Blasphemy and Censorship. The Historical Importance of Passive and Active Models |
| title_fullStr | Blasphemy and Censorship. The Historical Importance of Passive and Active Models |
| title_full_unstemmed | Blasphemy and Censorship. The Historical Importance of Passive and Active Models |
| title_short | Blasphemy and Censorship. The Historical Importance of Passive and Active Models |
| title_sort | blasphemy and censorship the historical importance of passive and active models |
| topic | Coleridge Samuel Taylor Freethinker Norbert Elias Foucault Michel Bakhtin Mikhail judgment |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5173 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidnash blasphemyandcensorshipthehistoricalimportanceofpassiveandactivemodels |