1st Edition

Giorgio Agamben

By Alex Murray Copyright 2010
    164 Pages
    by Routledge

    164 Pages
    by Routledge

    Giorgio Agamben is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary continental philosophy and critical theory. His work covers a broad array of topics from biblical criticism to Guantanamo Bay and the ‘war on terror’.

    Alex Murray explains Agamben’s key ideas, including:

    • an overview of his work from first publication to the present
    • clear analysis of Agamben’s philosophy of language and life
    • theories of ethics and ‘witnessing’
    • the relationship between Agamben’s political writing and his work on aesthetics and poetics.

    Investigating the relationship between politics, language, literature, aesthetics and ethics, this guide is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the complex nature of modern political and cultural formations.

    Acknowledgements  Why Agamben?  Key Ideas  1. Language and the Negativity of Being  2. Infancy and Archaeological Method  3. Potentiality and ‘the Task of the Coming Philosophy’  4. Politics – Bare Life and Sovereign Power  5. The Homeland of Gesture – Art and Cinema  6. The Laboratory of Literature  7. Bearing Witness and Messianic Time   After Agamben  Further Reading  Works Cited

    Biography

    Alex Murray