User:Jayvdb/Saved pages/Libricide

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Libricide is a word used rarely, but literally means to kill books. Book burning is a form of libricide, but libricide can take many different forms. Libricide can refer to destruction of a body of material specific to a particular culture as an act of suppression or warfare. Acts of libricide go back over two thousand years. [1]. It is the non-accidental destruction of libraries and books by actors with political or moral intention. Like genocide, such actions transgress civilized boundaries and constitute crimes against humanity. [2].

"We have come to realize that we cannot understand ancient Mesopotamia, Ptolemaic Egypt, Moorish Spain, the French Revolution, or Sinclair Lewis's America unless we know which books were up there on the shelves, and who was allowed to read them…" (Rose, 2003).[3]

“ To destroy a library is to deny a people's claim to civilization. ”

—[4]
See also: Cultural genocide

Contents

[edit] Symptoms of cultural pathology in figurative language

Libricide does not occur in healthy free societies but is a technique of extremists. Perpetrators of libricide use language to control those who might otherwise read the books and become part of the exchange of ideas between author and reader. Genocide, ethnocide, and libricide are pre-figured in the use of aggressive public accusations and proclamations. Words like pestilence, poison, vermin, cancer, devil, thugs and virus are used out of context to achieve persuasive ends[4]. According to G. Nunberg, a modern example of this is U.S. President Bush describing the Iraqi insurgents as "thugs and assassins." He's used the phrase a number of times, including in his remarks at his Thanksgiving drop-in in Baghdad and in his State of the Union address. [5]

[edit] The scope and political nature of libricide

The systematic and willful destruction of not only books, as in book-burning, but libraries, museums, and government records is seen by some as a function of social and political problem-solving. Libricide is committed by neglect as well. Attacks on libraries and museums don't single out particular works for censorship. The effect is, as Rebecca Knuth(2006) has described, one of "biblioclasm", a signal that social discord has progressed to a critical point and that the foundations of modern civilization are at risk. [6] As recently as 2003 in Iraq, according to Knuth (2006), Human Rights Watch called for the preservation of government records to ensure property rights, to counter claims that could trigger ethnic violence, and to use in future tribunals of Saddam's officials for crimes against the Iraqui people.[7] Failing to protect Iraqi security archives could contribute to retaliatory violence and vengeance killings, since the archives could identify tens of thousands of security agents and collaborators by name, Human Rights Watch said. [8]

[edit] Some historical occurences of libricide

Bosmajian, H. (2006), and Knuth, R. (2003, 2006) each give a more comprehensive account. Bosmajian refers to the actual fiery destruction of books, while Knuth frames these actions from the 19th to 21st centuries.

  • The destruction of the Buddhist Library and University in Nalanda, 1193.
  • The United States destruction of documents and artifacts in the Indian Wars (1775-1917)
  • The burning by the British of Washington, D.C. in the War of 1812 (1814)

[edit] Some acts of libricide in the Twentieth Century

  • Cultural artifacts and library destruction by Nazi plunder (1933-1945).
  • The destruction of books and cultural artifacts by the Taliban (1996-2001).
  • The burning of books and destruction of religious and other buildings and artifacts by the Red Guards(China) (1966-1976)
  • The burning of the Hindu Tamil Jaffna Library by the Sinhalese Police (1981)
  • The destruction of Tibetan culture by the Chinese (1976-2000).[9]

[edit] Differences and similarities to book-burning and vandalism

All cultures have much to lose in warfare, declared or undeclared; and vandalism. Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement or destruction of a structure, a symbol or anything else that goes against the will of the owner/governing body. It is more of a crime committed by an individual or group though it often contains political and/or moral intention.

Book burning and libricide is the purposeful product of utopian extremism in a society that is characterized by psychopathology (in its edicts, laws, militarism, nationalism, sectarianism, and racism) and takes actions which to their belief, promotes the greater good. It is usually enforced as part of the institutionalization of totalitarianism.

Differences and similarities exist in the scope of genocides and ethnocides committed throughout history but the advent of total war written about in Carl von Clausewitz's On War(1832) military strategies and first practiced by General William Tecumseh Sherman's fiery march to the sea[10]. The last 150 years of total war include massive cultural and material destruction. Nuclear War remains as much a possibility as world peace. Unlike the extremist Utopias of the government agencies, legislators, and independent groups who have carried out such crimes against humanity, we may benefit by examining the causes of moral or immoral actions as an aspect of social pathology when it comes to our collective human culture. The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict seeks to require its signatories from damaging significant cultural sites and materials during wartime.

[edit] World Community Action, preservation efforts and awareness

Impossible to predict the impact that the loss of humanity’s cultural heritage will have on future generations, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is an international community that endorses liberal humanistic principles and has begun to combat ethnocide (including libricide).

Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity is a list maintained by UNESCO with pieces of intangible culture considered relevant by that organization. It was started in 2001 with 19 items and a further 28 were added in 2003. On November 25, 2005 another list was issued.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State Parties (countries) which are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a fixed term. (This is similar to the United Nations Security Council.)

The program aims to catalogue, name, and conserve sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humankind. Under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. Since then, over 180 State Parties have ratified the convention.

[edit] Notes

[f. L. libr-, liber book + -CIDE 2.]

[< French -cide and its etymon classical Latin -c{imac}da cutter, killer, slayer (in e.g. homic{imac}da, parric{imac}da, m{amac}tric{imac}da, fr{amac}tric{imac}da, sor{omac}ric{imac}da, tyrannic{imac}da, etc., slayer of a man, father, mother, brother,sister, tyrant, etc.; also lapic{imac}da, stone-cutter, etc.) < caedere (in compounds -c{imac}dere) to cut, kill (see CÆSURA n.). Cf. -CIDE2.

Most of the Latin words having the sense ‘slayer, murderer’,passed (frequently via French) into English, e.g. FRATRICIDE n.1, HOMICIDE n.1 (late Middle English), MATRICIDE n.1 and PARRICIDE n.1 (16th century). From the 16th century onwards, new formations have also been made on Latin first elements, notably REGICIDE n.1 and SUICIDE n.1 Many more occasional forms have been used, e.g. CANICIDE n., CETICIDE n., PERDRICIDE n., VATICIDE n.1, VERBICIDE n.1 Humorous formations on English first elements are found from the late 18th cent., e.g. PRENTICE-CIDE n., SUITORCIDE a., etc.]

Forming nouns with the sense ‘a person who kills (the person, animal, etc. indicated by the initial element)’.[11]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bosmajian, H. (2006). Burning Books. London: McFarland.
  2. ^ Knuth, R. (2006). Burning Books and Leveling Libraries: Extremist Violence and Cultural Destruction. Westpot, CT: Praeger. p. 243
  3. ^ Rose, J. (2003). “Conflict in the stacks: Review of Matthew Battles, Library: An unquiet history.” [electronic resource]. Harvard Magazine, Nov.-Dec. 2003. Accessed 4/20/07 from, [[1]].
  4. ^ Bosmajian, H. (2006). Burning Books. London: McFarland.
  5. ^ Nunberg, G. "The Time of the Assassins". NPR "Fresh Air" Commentary, Air date February 20,2004. [[2]]
  6. ^ Knuth, R. (2006). Burning Books and Leveling Libraries: Extremist Violence and Cultural Destruction. Westpot, CT: Praeger. p. 2
  7. ^ Knuth, R.(2006),Ibid, p. 207
  8. ^ Human Rights Watch: Human Rights News. (April 10, 2003). Iraq: Protect Government Archives from Looting. Retrieved 4/20/07 from, from [[3]]"
  9. ^ Knuth, R. (2003). Libricide. Westport, CT: Praeger.
  10. ^ Wikipedia, General Sherman, "Total War".General Sherman#Total warfare
  11. ^ The Oxford English dictionary [electronic resource]. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press,1989 -.

[edit] Other resources

  • Art works may self-destruct, in a form of art called "auto-destructive art". Franz Kafka wished to see his books burned after his death but they were rescued by his friend, Max Brod.
  • Bataille, G. "Kafka:Should kafka be burnt?". [electronic resource]. Retrieved 4/20/07 from, [[5]]
  • Bolte, C.G. "Security through book burning." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 300, Internal Security and Civil Rights. (Jul., 1955), pp. 87-93. [[6]]
  • Chancellor. A. (April 26, 2003). "Barbarians at the gates". London: The Guardian.Guardian Weekend Pages, Pg. 7.
  • Cultural Genocide. [[7]]
  • Ethnocide. [[8]]
  • Fatih, N. (April 19, 2007). Iran exonerates six who killed in Islam’s name. New York Times, p. A113.
  • Forbes, C. "Books for the burning." Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 67. (1936), pp.

114-125. [[9]]

  • Goswami, R. (April 25, 2003). "Culture: global effort on to rebuild shattered iraqui heritage." Mumbai: IPS-Inter Press Service/Global Information Network.
  • Kinzer, S. (2007, March 29, 2007). "Big Gamble In Rwanda." New York Review of Books, 54, 23-26.11.
  • Knox, R. (March 21, 2006). "The horror of cultural destruction". London: The Independent. News, p.5.
  • Libricide. [[10]]
  • Maas, P. Love Thy Neighbor. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1996.
  • Maiello, M., Noer, M. ed. "Special Report: Are books in danger?" New York: Forbes [electronic resource]. 12.01.06 [[11]]
  • Ritchie, J.M. "The Nazi Book-Burning". The Modern Language Review, Vol. 83, No. 3. (Jul., 1988), pp. 627-643. [[12]]
  • Zizek, S. : The new politics of truth. Open Democracy Website. [[13]]

[edit] External links