Giorgio Agamben

<p>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’. </p><p>Alex Murray explains Agamben’s key ideas, including: </p><ul> <ul> </ul> <li>an overview of his work from first publication to the present </li> <li>clear analysis of Agamben’s philosophy of language and life </li> <li>theories of ethics and ‘witnessing’</li> <li>the relationship between Agamben’s political writing and his work on aesthetics and poetics. </li> <ul> </ul> </ul><p>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.</p> <p>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</p>