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The focus of this dissertation is a social and cultural theoretical analysis of the
empirical data regarding the prison abuse that occurred at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by
American forces . I provide the following : an examination of the photographs of abuse
that were leaked to the press in the fall of 2003 ; an analysis of both Lynndie England’s
and Sabrina Harman’s courts -martial (two of the “rotten apples” ) ; a discussion of the
body associated with punishment and torture , and also as marked in ways of
identification ; and an assessment of additional representations regarding prisoner abuse
at Abu Ghraib . Throughout this analysis , I use gender as a lens to understand Abu
Ghraib and the subsequent courts -martial . It is important to note that I gained access to
and was intimately involved as a graduate researcher for Dr . Stjepan G . Mestrovic , an
expert for the defense , and experienced the events of the trials themselves , first -hand and
during closed counsel and open session .
The empirical data provided is drawn primarily from first -hand qualitative
research that involved participant -observation of two trials , interaction with soldiers and officers , and analysis of both documents pertaining to the trial as well as the photographs
of abuse themselves , among other things . I incorporate cultural studies , feminist and
sociological theory (modern and postmodern ) , and feminist philosophy so as to provide a
theoretical analysis of the abuse at Abu Ghraib and the subsequent courts -martial
focused on gender and sexuality .
The result of this dissertation is a social and cultural theoretical analysis of the
empirical data regarding the prison abuse that occurred at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by
American forces , where women , gender , and sexuality are shown to be important criteria
for examination . Specifically , the results of this project highlight areas that current
analyses of the abuse at Abu Ghraib have left out : how women fit into American
military politics , how gender functions as power within the military , how gender is
socially constructed in the military in terms of heterosexuality , and how both gender and
sexuality are used as weapons by the American military . This kind of examination is
useful in future policy considerations for the military and for detainee treatment , where
analyses of women , gender , sexuality , and power have been so far neglected in any
serious way , and even by sociologists Phillip Zimbardo and the application of his
Stanford Prison Study to the events of Abu Ghraib . |
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