Description
Book SynopsisCritical Theory at a Crossroads presents conversations with prominent theorists about the crises that have marked the past years and the use of the term crisis in political discourse. They offer their views on contemporary challenges and how we might address them, candidly discussing the alternatives that new social movements have offered.
Trade ReviewThe benefits of this collection of interviews are many: an introduction to the thought of some leading critical intellectuals, a compendium of the terms and questions most pressing in contemporary theory, a confrontation with the political challenges of the present moment, and more. If you want an answer to 'what is to be done?' you won’t find it here. But you will encounter the work of thought necessary for ideas capable of turning current crises into emancipatory possibilities. -- Jodi Dean, author of
The Communist HorizonIn this book the concept of 'crisis' is examined in all of its multiple expressions—historical, social, and philosophical. The result is extraordinarily rich and penetrating. Against the idea that 'there is no alternative,' a form of resistance emerges that is capable of overcoming national confines and of opening a new space for action and thought. -- Roberto Esposito, author of
Bios: Biopolitics and PhilosophyCritical Theory at a Crossroads consists of eleven conversations with distinguished interviewees about various crises in the contemporary world, as well as a letter exchange in its concluding twelfth chapter. All of its contributions reflect and engage the work of the interviewees included in the book but also add new insights to it. This timely collection both develops a theoretical/philosophical reflection about crisis and a practical investigation of actually developing political or economic phenomena that have been characterized as 'crises.' -- Arne De Boever, California Institute of the Arts
Good reading for graduate seminars in the humanities and social sciences. * Choice *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction: Resistance in a Time of Crisis, by Stijn De Cauwer
1. A Critical Europe Can Do It! Interview with
Rosi Braidotti. Interview conducted by Joost de Bloois
2. We Should be Modest, When It Comes to the Designation of the Possible Subjects of a New Politics: Interview with
Jacques Rancière. Interview conducted and translated by Stijn De Cauwer and Gert-Jan Meyntjens
3. The History of the Notion of Crisis: Interview with
Joseph Vogl. Interview conducted and translated by Sven Fabré and Arne Vanraes
4. Neoliberalism Against the Promise of Modernity: Interview with
Wendy Brown. Interview conducted by Joost de Bloois
5. The European Union Is a Cage: Interview with
Antonio Negri. Interview conducted and translated by Stijn De Cauwer and Gert-Jan Meyntjens
6. We Need to Have a Clear Alternative: Interview with
Tariq Ali. Interview conducted by Stijn De Cauwer
7. Finance Is an Extractive Sector: Interview with
Saskia Sassen. Interview conducted by Tim Christiaens and Massimiliano Simons
8. How to Think a War Machine?: Interview with
Maurizio Lazzarato. Interview conducted by Tim Christiaens and Stijn De Cauwer. Translated by Tim Christiaens
9. The Creativity Dispositive: Labor Reform by Stealth: Interview with
Angela McRobbie. Interview conducted by Stijn De Cauwer, Gert-Jan Meyntjens, and Heidi Peeters
10. The Idea of Crisis: Interview with
Jean-Luc Nancy. Interview conducted and translated by Erik Meganck and Evelien Van Beeck
11. Terror and the Rejection of Sense: Interview with
Jean-Luc Nancy. Interview conducted and translated by Erik Meganck and Evelien Van Beeck
12. Community in Crisis: A Letter Exchange Between
Zygmunt Bauman and
Roberto Esposito. Translated by Jolien Paeleman
List of Contributors
Index
