E-grāmata: Giorgio Agamben: Sovereignty and Life

Calarco (philosophy, Sweet Briar College) and DeCaroli (philosophy, Goucher College) present 11 papers that engage with the works of Italian political philosopher Giorgio Agamben. A central focus of a number of the essays concerns Agambens theorizing on the nature of sovereignty as the ability of governments to declare states of exception where citizenship and individual rights can be diminished or abolished. A related focus concerns Agambens understanding of the power of law to define bare life and actively separate it citizenship, which is the ability to pursue the good life through politics. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Giorgio Agamben has come to be recognized in recent years as one of the most provocative and imaginative thinkers in contemporary philosophy and political theory. The essays gathered together in this volume shed light on his extensive body of writings and assess the significance of his work for debates across a wide range of fields, including philosophy, political theory, Jewish studies, and animal studies. The authors discuss material extending across the entire range of Agambens writings, including such early works as Language and Death and more recent and widely acknowledged works such as Homo Sacer. Readers will find useful discussions of key concepts and theories in Agambens work, such as sovereignty and bare life, along with more critical analyses of the political stakes and consequences of his theoretical and political interventions. This volume provides the first in-depth collection of essays aimed at critically examining the work of political philosopher Giorgio Agamben.