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Erfan Rajabi

Erfan Rajabi

Academic rank: Assistant Professor
ORCID:
Education: PhD.
ScopusId: 9642
Faculty: Faculty of Language and Literature
Address: Bloc 12, Teachers's residential headquarters, Pasdaran Blv. Sanandaj.
Phone: 1205

Research

Title
The Politics of Social Space Production in Don Dellilo's White Noise and Cosmoplis
Type
Thesis
Keywords
Henri Lefebvre, spatial practices, representations of space, representational spaces, consumerism, abstract space
Year
2017
Researchers Farzin Mohammadi(Student)، Erfan Rajabi(PrimaryAdvisor)، Bakhtiar Sadjadi(Advisor)

Abstract

This study investigates Don DeLillo’s White Noise (1985) and Cosmopolis (2003) in terms of Henri Lefebvre’s conceptualization of production of space. Lefebvre’s complex theory of production of space is offered as a triad of interconnected and necessary elements which includes spatial practices, representations of space, and representational spaces that leads to a true knowledge of space. The main argument of this study is to illustrate space as a fundamental element in the operation and organization of society within historical modes of production and consequently shapes the identity of the characters. Capitalism as a mode of production tends to create social cohesion in a society without lasting traditions by make use of abstract space which is not homogenous itself, thought it contains homogeneity in its aims. The mode of production in both novels is capitalism which tends to homogenize the characters’ identities through abstract space, consumerism, and everyday life. White Noise deals with a capitalist society, the criticism of capitalism, and post-industrial consumption-oriented society as a result of capitalism through the use of distinct spaces and places throughout the novel. Cosmopolis as a postmodern novel investigates the relationship between futurity, technology, and subjective experience in a postmodern society by make use of spaces and places. This study analyzes the production of social space in White Noise and Cosmopolis through the framework of Lefebvre’s theory of production of space and the influence of these social spaces on the identity of characters. The result of these analyses demonstrates that capitalism, as a mode of production, produces social spaces related to consumerism and consequently shapes the characters’ identity as consumerist individuals.