《屈辱》是南非作家和諾貝爾獎得主柯慈於1999 年出版的一本具爭議性的
小說。特殊的背景與文中白人老教授所不斷表示被認為是整體白人對於不同種族
的態度是造成其爭議性的主因。《屈辱》設定於南非種族隔離政策與民主之間的
斷層，由於這樣的背景，使得小說中描述的氾濫犯罪與無能警力格外生動寫實。
除此之外，魯芮不斷表達的種族言論的的確確引起了猜疑。一方面，學者們爭論
說魯芮的種族言論實際上是作者本身的看法。另一方面，學者們指出小說中所描
述的景象太過於悲觀。事實上，小說中特殊的背景與對生活在其下的人們之描述
再再指出了現代哲學思考中一個重要的原素—生命。生命政治的議題近年內備受
關注。其中，義大利政治哲學家阿岡本（Giorgio Agamben）所提出的裸命理論
與小說中描繪的極端狀況相應。因此，本論文的目的在於以阿岡本的理論脈絡從
小說中的特殊背景、其所可能帶來的後果與種族的言論中觀察生命政治的面向。
希冀藉由這樣的角度能為這本廣為閱讀的小說帶來一種新的詮釋之道。

Disgrace, published in 1999, is a controversial novel written by South African
Nobel Laureate J. M. Coetzee. What render the work controversial are its peculiar
setting and racial attitude expressed by an old white male deemed as the
representative of white. Setting in a caesura marked by the collapse of apartheid
regime and the dawn of democracy, Disgrace vividly and realistically depicts the
rampant crimes and inefficient police force during an extreme period. In addition, the
racial discourses expressed time and again by David Lurie invite skepticism.
Continental scholars argue that, on the one hand, the racial attitude expressed by the
character is in fact the author’s attitude toward people with different ethnicity. On the
other hand, scholars argue that the situation depicted in the novel tends to be
pessimistic. In fact, the peculiar setting and the depiction of the people within it
designate a crucial element in contemporary philosophy: life. The issues of biopolitics
have gradually received attention in recent years. Among the various perspectives
toward the issue, Italian political philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s theory of the
production of bare life corresponds to the extreme situation in the novel. Therefore,
bearing the major discussion of the novel in mind, I aim to observe the biopolitical
dimension of the novel. I attempt to discuss the peculiar setting, the consequence the
peculiar setting may bring, and the racial attitude in the light of Agambenian
biopolitical notions in an effort to provide a new perspective toward a novel which
has been widely discussed and appreciated in a global scale.

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