Sensational Jurisprudence: Visual Culture and Human Rights

Sensational jurisprudence is a new branch of sociolegal studies that deals with the five senses and public policy. Because the law privileges the visual, this essay examines social science research about images of suffering and the implications of these findings. The interdisciplinary scholarship about visual culture emphasizes the negative aspects of humanitarian appeals for funding to aid the distant sufferer, and it suggests that bombarding the public with graphic depictions of pitiable individuals is counterproductive. Instead, researchers ought to develop methodologies to ascertain which emotions motivate individuals to engage in global civic action. Keywords: human rights; humanitarianism; images of suffering; mobilization of shame; politics and emotions; visual culture; empathy; “compassion fatigue” (or “demand fatigue”); “distant sufferer”; NGOs; photography