Departmental Papers (ASC)
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
6-1-2001
Abstract
This article contemplates the journalistic coverage of American espionage as an attempt to maintain consonance with broader cultural discourses about what it means to be an American. Tracking the American press coverage of the Jonathan Pollard spy case, the article demonstrates that the press turns espionage into a phenomenon upholding fundamental American beliefs in openness, sincerity, and straightforwardness. It shows that, rather than represent espionage as a phenomenon embodying deceit, secrecy, and immoral action, the press turns espionage into a phenomenon that communicates that one is what one says one is and that one's self presentation reflects one's insides. Ultimately, however, this representation of espionage undermines a full understanding of how - and why - spying works in culture.
Date Posted: 04 March 2008
This document has been peer reviewed.
Comments
Postprint Version. Published in Qualitative Sociology, Volume 24, Issue 2, June 2001, > pages 203-220.
Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1010722225840