Description:
This volume, the first sustained critical work on the French political philosopher Étienne Balibar, collects essays by sixteen prominent philosophers, psychoanalysts, anthropologists, sociologists, and literary critics who each identify, define, and explore a central concept in Balibar's thought. The result is a hybrid lexicon-engagement that makes clear the depth and importance of Balibar's contribution to the most urgent topics in contemporary thought.
The book shows the continuing vitality of materialist thought across the humanities and social sciences and will be fundamental for understanding the philosophical bases of the contemporary left critique of globalization, neoliberalism, and the articulation of race, racism, and economic exploitation. Contributors: Emily Apter, Étienne Balbar, J. M. Bernstein, Judith Butler, Monique David-Ménard, Hanan Elsayed, Didier Fassin, Stathis Gourgouris, Bernard E. Harcourt, Jacques Lezra, Patrice Maniglier, Warren Montag, Adi Ophir, Bruce Robbins, Ann Laura Stoler, Gary WilderBrief description: Ann Laura Stoler is Willy Brandt Distinguished University Professor of Anthropology and Historical Studies at The New School for Social Research, Founding Director of its Institute for Critical Social Inquiry since 2014, and one of the founding editors of Political Concepts: A Critical Lexicon. Her books include Race and the Education of Desire (1995), Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power (2002), Along the Archival Grain (2009), and Duress (2016).
Review Quotes: "A collection like this one that explores and extends aspects of Etienne Balibar's work for an American audience is long overdue. The book understands that Balibar is a philosopher who moves the critical debate in crucial ways on a theoretical level, but who is doing so while attending to their implications for practical political problems and their solutions."---Ellen Burt, University of California, Irvine