Dark Borders: Film Noir and American Citizenship
Dark Borders: Film Noir and American Citizenship
Professor Jonathan Auerbach will discuss his newest book, 'Dark Borders: Film Noir and American Citizenship' on Thursday, November 10 at 4:30pm in McKeldin Library's Special Events Room.
'Dark Borders' connects anxieties about citizenship and national belonging in mid-twentieth century America to the sense of alienation conveyed by American film noir. Jonathan Auerbach provides in-depth interpretations of more than a dozen of these dark crime thrillers, considering them in relation to U.S. national security measures enacted from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s. The growth of a domestic intelligence-gathering apparatus before, during, and after the Second World War raised unsettling questions about who was American and who was not, and how to tell the difference. Auerbach shows how politics and aesthetics merge in these noirs, whose oft-noted uncanniness betrays the fear that "un-American" foes lurk within the homeland.
The talk is part of the series "Speaking of Books... Conversations with Campus Authors," sponsored by the University of Maryland Libraries to highlight research by UM faculty.
Dr. Auerbach will sign copies of 'Dark Borders,' which will be available for sale. Refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public. For further information, contact Tim Hackman (thackman@umd.edu, 301-314-8521).
For further information about the "Speaking of Books..." series, visit our website.