Frontmatter

CMA Journal
Issue Three: Bare Life

Letter from the Editor

We are proud to release our third issue of the Comparative Media Arts Journal. This journal has grown out the strengths and diverse interests of the emerging artists and thinkers in the School for Contemporary Arts at SFU. This issue, we turn our attention to the concept of bare life introduced by Giorgio Agamben in Homo Sacer (1998). When the previous editorial team developed their call for submissions, the US election was still in primaries and many could not fathom living in a Post-Trump state. Now, internationally, we suffer not only a major refugee crisis but also looming travel bans and increasing threats to domestic civil liberties. If bare life refers to life at its utmost reduction, then this political climate has us now seeking strategies to endure in this minor state.

We look to the arts to explore what else might be contained by this present moment, treating the creative act as a form of dissent, and inquire: how can this condition be turned into a strength?

We are grateful for the faculty support of Dr. Laura U. Marks, Dr. Denise Oleksijczuk and the School for Contemporary Arts for overseeing this project and ensuring its success. This issue was directed by Megan Jones, Dionne Horacsek, Logan Williams and Michelle Martin, graduates of our MA in Comparative Media Arts, showcasing the exciting reciprocal relationship between our graduate program and this creative endeavor.

Managing Editor, Yani Kong

Bibliography

Agamben, Giorgio, Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 1998.