The Philippine–American War and the American Debates about the Necessity and Legality of the “Water Cure,” 1901–1903 |
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| Abstract: | Abstract This essay provides a critical genealogical study of the “water cure” controversies that took place during the Philippine–American War. The author extends the work of Foucault and Agamben to argue that a biopolitical review of this controversy illustrates how many of the legal and cultural arguments used to legitimate the water cure have resurfaced in contemporary debates about waterboarding and enhanced interrogations techniques. The essay also illustrates how anti-imperialists and other critics of Theodore Roosevelt's administration tried to use these water-cure debates as discursive vehicles for complaining about the systematic abuse of Filipinos during the Philippine “Insurrection.” |
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| Keywords: | Biopolitics Critical Genealogy Philippine–American War Waterboarding Water Cure |
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