Acceleration Nation: An Investigation into the Violence of Speed and the Uses of Accidents in Iceland

Arnar Arnason, Sigurjón Baldur Hafsteinsson, Tinna Grétarsdóttir

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

There are two starting points from which this paper is constructed: first, Virilio’s observation that the wealth of societies is founded on their dromocratic condition, that the faster societies accelerate their citizens, commercial goods and communication the more political and economic power they have and, second, the links that he traces between technologies of speed and acceleration and the accident. We suggest that Virilio’s ideas on this invite and deserve a closer ethnographic scrutiny than they have so far received, scrutiny that highlights the varied ways in which speed, acceleration and the accident are articulated in different cultural contexts. To this end we offer an investigation into the dromocratic condition, the violence of speed and the uses of accidents in Iceland.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)199-217
Number of pages19
JournalCulture, Theory and Critique
Volume48
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2007

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Acceleration Nation: An Investigation into the Violence of Speed and the Uses of Accidents in Iceland'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this