The Laws of Terrorism: Representations of Terrorism in German Literature and Film

dc.contributor.advisorAnderson, Susanen_US
dc.contributor.authorChen, Yannleonen_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-10-03T23:36:15Z
dc.date.available2013-10-03T23:36:15Z
dc.date.issued2013-10-03
dc.description.abstractRepresentations of the reasons and actions of terrorists have appeared in German literature tracing back to the age of Sturm und Drang of the 18th century, most notably in Heinrich von Kleist's Michael Kohlhaas and Friedrich Schiller's Die Räuber, and more recently since the radical actions of the Red Army Faction during the late 1960s and early 1970s, such as in Uli Edel's film, The Baader Meinhof Complex. By referring to Walter Benjamin's system of natural law and positive law, which provides definitions of differing codes of ethics with relation to state laws and personal ethics, one should be able to understand that Michael Kohlhaas, Karl Moor, and the members of the RAF are indeed represented as terrorists. However, their actions and motives are not without an internal ethics, which conflicts with that of their respective state-sanctioned authorities. This thesis reveals the similarities and differences in motives, methods, and use of violence in Schiller, Kleist, and representations of the RAF and explores how the turn to terrorism can arise from a logical realization that ideologies of state law do not align with the personal sense of justice and law of the individual.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/13313
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregonen_US
dc.rightsCreative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0-USen_US
dc.subjectBaader-Meinhofen_US
dc.subjectDie Räuberen_US
dc.subjectKohlhaasen_US
dc.subjectNatural law and positive lawen_US
dc.subjectRAFen_US
dc.subjectWalter Benjaminen_US
dc.titleThe Laws of Terrorism: Representations of Terrorism in German Literature and Filmen_US
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineDepartment of German and Scandinavianen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Oregonen_US
thesis.degree.levelmastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameM.A.en_US

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