USD $27.00
Deception: Spies, Lies and Forgeries
This volume was first published by Inter-Disciplinary Press in 2016.
We have entered a ‘post-truth era’, in which, Daniel J. Boorstin notes, ‘believability’ has become an acceptable substitute for ‘truth’, and ‘manifold deceptions of our culture’ are difficult to separate from ‘its few enduring truths’. In this era, communities and individuals may feel routinely duped, cheated or betrayed. Though truth may be considered intrinsically valuable, deception may sometimes be useful or necessary. Sometimes there is pleasure in the spectacle of deception. The essays in this volume address a variety of areas, coming from different disciplines and methodological approaches: what unites them is the notion of deception. Deception is not just one thing: it can be used for personal liberation and expression; it can be use as a tool of state oppression and sometimes it is purely entertainment. We encounter deception every day of our lives: these essays explore some the ways in which we do.
We have entered a ‘post-truth era’, in which, Daniel J. Boorstin notes, ‘believability’ has become an acceptable substitute for ‘truth’, and ‘manifold deceptions of our culture’ are difficult to separate from ‘its few enduring truths’. In this era, communities and individuals may feel routinely duped, cheated or betrayed. Though truth may be considered intrinsically valuable, deception may sometimes be useful or necessary. Sometimes there is pleasure in the spectacle of deception. The essays in this volume address a variety of areas, coming from different disciplines and methodological approaches: what unites them is the notion of deception. Deception is not just one thing: it can be used for personal liberation and expression; it can be use as a tool of state oppression and sometimes it is purely entertainment. We encounter deception every day of our lives: these essays explore some the ways in which we do.
Laura Crossley is a lecturer in Media and Film Studies, with a PhD from the University of Manchester; the PhD investigated notions of nation and identity in Peter Jackson’s
Lord of the Rings trilogy. Areas of interest focus on representations of British national identity in film and television, British stars and stardom and the function of nostalgia in film. She has published on the spy film and is currently working on a monograph on British espionage cinema. Her most recent talks have focused on the fictional female agent, Modesty Blaise.
Clara Sitbon is a scholarly teaching fellow at the University of Sydney where she lectures in French Studies. Her PhD focused on Vernon Sullivan and the literary hoax. She is currently working on two monographs, one on Vernon Sullivan, the other on the Série Noire, and is leading a number of edited collections, including on Boris Vian and hoax theory. She is a member of the University of Newcastle’s Detective Fiction on the Move strategic research network.
Clara Sitbon is a scholarly teaching fellow at the University of Sydney where she lectures in French Studies. Her PhD focused on Vernon Sullivan and the literary hoax. She is currently working on two monographs, one on Vernon Sullivan, the other on the Série Noire, and is leading a number of edited collections, including on Boris Vian and hoax theory. She is a member of the University of Newcastle’s Detective Fiction on the Move strategic research network.