Travis, M (2015) We’re All Infected: Legal Personhood, Bare Life and The Walking Dead. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, 28 (4). pp. 787-800. ISSN 0952-8059
Abstract
This article argues that greater theoretical attention should be paid to the figure of the zombie in the fields of law, cultural studies and philosophy. Using The Walking Dead as a point of critical departure concepts of legal personhood are interrogated in relation to permanent vegetative states, bare life and the notion of the third person. Ultimately, the paper recommends a rejection of personhood; instead favouring a legal and philosophical engagement with humanity and embodiment. Personhood, it is suggested, creates a barrier in law allowing individuals in certain contexts (and in certain embodied states) to be rendered non-persons and thus outside the scope of legal rights. An approach that rejects personhood in favour of embodiment would allow individuals to enjoy their rights without being subject to such discrimination. It is also suggested that the concept of the human, itself complicated by the figure of the zombie, allows for legal engagement with a greater number of putative rights claimants including admixed embryos, cyborgs and the zombie.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht, 2014. This is an author produced version of a paper published in International Journal for the Semiotics of Law. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. The final publication is available at Springer via http://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-014-9396-3 |
Keywords: | Zombie; Legal personhood; Bare life; The Walking Dead; Embodiment |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Law (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 24 May 2016 15:53 |
Last Modified: | 05 Nov 2017 03:31 |
Published Version: | http://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-014-9396-3 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s11196-014-9396-3 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:99651 |