| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 英語學系 === 100 === Disgrace, published in 1999, is a controversial novel written by South African
Nobel Laureate J. M. Coetzee. What render the work controversial are its peculiar
setting and racial attitude expressed by an old white male deemed as the
representative of white. Setting in a caesura marked by the collapse of apartheid
regime and the dawn of democracy, Disgrace vividly and realistically depicts the
rampant crimes and inefficient police force during an extreme period. In addition, the
racial discourses expressed time and again by David Lurie invite skepticism.
Continental scholars argue that, on the one hand, the racial attitude expressed by the
character is in fact the author’s attitude toward people with different ethnicity. On the
other hand, scholars argue that the situation depicted in the novel tends to be
pessimistic. In fact, the peculiar setting and the depiction of the people within it
designate a crucial element in contemporary philosophy: life. The issues of biopolitics
have gradually received attention in recent years. Among the various perspectives
toward the issue, Italian political philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s theory of the
production of bare life corresponds to the extreme situation in the novel. Therefore,
bearing the major discussion of the novel in mind, I aim to observe the biopolitical
dimension of the novel. I attempt to discuss the peculiar setting, the consequence the
peculiar setting may bring, and the racial attitude in the light of Agambenian
biopolitical notions in an effort to provide a new perspective toward a novel which
has been widely discussed and appreciated in a global scale.
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