Catastrophe and Redemption: The Political Thought of Giorgio Agamben (Suny Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy) - Softcover

Whyte, Jessica

Softcover

ISBN 10: 143844852X ISBN 13: 9781438448527

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 2014

Synopsis

Offers a striking new reading of Agamben’s political thought and its implications for political action in the present.

Challenging the prevalent account of Agamben as a pessimistic thinker, Catastrophe and Redemption proposes a reading of his political thought in which the redemptive element of his work is not a curious aside but instead is fundamental to his project. Jessica Whyte considers his critical account of contemporary politics―his argument that Western politics has been “biopolitics” since its inception, his critique of human rights, his argument that the state of exception is now the norm, and the paradigmatic significance he attributes to the concentration camp―and shows that it is in the midst of these catastrophes of the present that Agamben sees the possibility of a form of profane redemption. Whyte outlines the importance of potentiality in his attempt to formulate a new politics, examines his relation to Jewish and Christian strands of messianism, and interrogates the new forms of praxis that he situates within contemporary commodity culture, taking Agamben’s thought as a call for the creation of new political forms.

About this title

About the Author:

Jessica Whyte is Lecturer in Cultural and Social Analysis at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. She is the coeditor (with Alex Murray) of The Agamben Dictionary.

Review:

“Scholars of Agamben have long pondered about the coming community, and laboured to defend their Agambenian inspired work against accusations of negativity and esotericism. Now, thanks to Jessica Whyte ... that task will become a little easier.” ― ephemera

“One of the book’s strengths is to reveal the essential bond between sovereign power and political, social, and cultural identities ... [a] fascinating book.” ― Comparative and Continental Philosophy

“...Catastrophe and Redemption offers a good critical overview of Agamben’s work.” ― Contemporary Political Theory

“...successfully break[s] through the crust of an interpretative machine around Agamben that has grown torpid by repetition ... Whyte’s reading of Agamben is nuanced, and her attention to the dynamics of capitalism and the history of political struggle provide an important corrective to some of his philosophical tendencies, without jettisoning insights.” ― Law and Critique

“...Whyte identifies key questions which will need to be asked in order to transform this world. Such questions relate to challenging inequality, challenging capitalism’s colonialism of the future, and creating new forms of solidarity. To address these issues, Whyte draws us to her conclusion that it is not enough to accede to teleological formations of capitalism. We must begin to develop ways to contest it. This slim volume can be seen as such a call to arms.” ― Symposium

About this edition

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 143844852X
• ISBN 13: 9781438448527
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224