E-Book Overview
Giorgio Agamben has emerged, in the past five years, as one of the most important continental philosophers. This burgeoning popularity of his work has largely been confined to a study of the homo sacer series. Yet these later 'political' works have their foundation in Agamben's earlier works on the philosophy of language, aesthetics and literature. From a philosophy of language and linguistics that leads to a broader theory of representation, Agamben develops a critical theory that attempts to explore the hiatuses and paradoxes that govern discursive practice across a broad range of disciplines. Gathering some of the most important established and emerging scholars to examine his body of work, this collection of essays seeks to explore Agamben's thought from these broader philosophical and literary concerns, underpinning its place within larger debates in continental philosophy. This volume will be a valuable addition to the understanding and reception of this major thinker. Including a contribution by Agamben himself makes it essential reading for anyone interested in his work.Features: * the first volume to focus on Agamben's early work on language and literature * includes established as well as up-and-coming scholars working in a variety of disciplines * includes a contribution by Agamben himself
E-Book Content
The Work of
Giorgio Agamben Law, Literature, Life Edited by Justin Clemens, Nicholas Heron and Alex Murray
The Work of Giorgio Agamben Law, Literature, Life Edited by Justin Clemens, Nicholas Heron and Alex Murray
EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS
© in this edition, Edinburgh University Press, 2008 © in the individual contributions is retained by the authors Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh Typeset in 11/13pt Adobe Sabon by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire, and printed and bound in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd, King’s Lynn, Norfolk A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7486 3462 0 (hardback) The right of the contributors to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Contents
Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors The Enigma of Giorgio Agamben Justin Clemens, Nicholas Heron and Alex Murray 1 2 3
4 5
6 7 8 9 10
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K Giorgio Agamben Integral Actuality: On Giorgio Agamben’s Idea of Prose Alexander García Düttmann The Role of the Shifter and the Problem of Reference in Giorgio Agamben Justin Clemens ‘Its Silent Working was a Delusion’ Jessica Whyte Politics and Poetics of Divine Violence: On a Figure in Giorgio Agamben and Walter Benjamin Arne De Boever Idea of Poetry, Idea of Prose Nicholas Heron The Fading Memory of Homo non Sacer Anton Schütz Soulblind, or On Profanation Thanos Zartaloudis Face to Face with Agamben; or, the Other in Love Julian Wolfreys Beyond Spectacle and the Image: the Poetics of Guy Debord and Agamben Alex Murray Dismantling Theatricality: Aesthetics of Bare Life Barbara Formis
v vii 1
13 28
43 66
82 97 114 132 149
164 181
The Work of Giorgio Agamben
iv
12
Notes on Media and Biopolitics: ‘Notes on Gesture’ Deborah Levitt
Index
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212
Acknowledgements
As always with such collections, we, the editors, have acquired many debts. In addition to our contributors, we would like to thank Rachel Hughes and John Frow for their generosity, as well as the two anonymous readers of the proposal whose feedback allowed us to refine the scope of the collection at an early stage. We also need to acknowledge the support of the staff at EUP, in particular our excellent and understanding editor, Carol Macdonald. We would also like to thank SUNY for permission to repu