First research proposal

For my paper, I will look to argue the nature of "law" and "city." Incorporated into this argument is this question of spatial reality and what inherently is "visible" and "invisible." The United States (a "city" in the relation to our discussion) is right in the center of the current debate of spatial reality. The argument of "visible invisibility" is perfect for our discussion of the United States and Globalization. The first article I read for my research is entitled, "From Space Immaterial: The Invisibility of the Lawscape." In this article's introduction, the two authors state that "invisible cities are slices of space through which visibility slides by." (438) This quote is perfect for the beginning framework of what my research is going to study; this notion of our visible "city," the United States, "shedding light onto and into blind spots, to reveal instead the resplendent floppiness the inevitably of the continuous production of further blind spots...thus confounding modernity's visibility with its very escape into invisibility." (440) The United States, the ultimate hegemonic power although slowly losing its grip on the rest of the globe, is attempting to "shed its light" onto the rest of the globe one last time, or onto one more "final frontier" - outerspace.

How is the United States able to pull such a bold move with the "weaponization of outerspace?" One argument is a "visible city and a visible law allow no space from which either of them is to be seen." In other words, nations that are under the spell of our intra-connected, capitalistic, globalized way of life, cannot see nor can they understand a "city saturated with control."

With this notion of "city" and "law" both coinciding with one another in their visible states an inherent invisibility of spatial relations, uniqueness, democracy, and opinion all become relative to the citizens of said "law" and "city." With the invisibility of "city" and "law," the United States is able to garnish enough momentum for arguably their final push to save American Exceptionalism, and ultimately, the capitalist style of world production (in other words, to save their self-interests); this final push of momentum to save the "American Dream" is the controlling of a new "frontier" or "city," outerspace. With the already facilitated notion of the fusion of "law" and "city," invisibility is the chief support system that can possibly help the United States add one final push to their hegemonic, controlling domination in our current globalized society - the sovereignty to control outerspace, and thus leading to its build up of military arms.

This is just the beginning to my proposal. I will have an updated proposal with a working bibliography published onto the blog sometime this weekend.

Thanks, JT Liverman