Through a sustained engagement with the work of the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, and against the background of contemporary political phenomena, Arne De Boever explores what positive political possibilities the notion of sovereignty might still hold. Using the philosophy of Catherine Malabou, he argues that these possibilities reside in an aesthetic reconceptualisation of sovereignty as a plastic power that is able to give, receive and explode the forms of our political future.
Arne De Boever provides an insightful introduction to François Jullien, exploring his unique position at the crossroads of Chinese and Western philosophies. The book emphasizes the concept of the "unthought" within both traditions, prompting readers to reconsider fundamental Western reasoning assumptions. Through this examination, De Boever illuminates the rich interplay between these diverse intellectual landscapes, offering a fresh perspective on cross-cultural thought.
Arne De Boever, a faculty member at the California Institute of the Arts, explores the intersections of aesthetics and politics through his academic work. He has authored influential texts, including "States of Exception in the Contemporary Novel," "Narrative Care," and "Plastic Sovereignties," which delve into contemporary narratives and their implications. His expertise in critical studies positions him as a significant voice in discussions around literature and its societal impacts.
Arne De Boever examines the paradox of sovereignty, highlighting how it simultaneously creates vulnerability while also serving as a means of its prevention. He argues that contemporary experiences of being vulnerable can be transformed into a collective strength that challenges and dismantles the very sovereignty responsible for such vulnerabilities. Through this exploration, the book seeks to redefine the relationship between power and vulnerability in a way that fosters resilience and collective action.
Exploring the intersection of art and aesthetics with political theology, this work delves into how these disciplines inform and challenge concepts of sovereignty. It examines the philosophical implications of artistic expression and its role in shaping political discourse, offering a unique perspective on the relationship between culture and power. Through critical analysis, the book invites readers to reconsider the influence of art on societal structures and the nature of authority.
Finance Fictions examines the tension between psychosis and realism in the
contemporary finance novel and shows that compared to earlier instances of the
genre (Wolfe; Ellis), the 21st-century finance novel (Alger; Harris;
Houellebecq; Lerner) develops a new realist approach to a contemporary economy
of financial instruments and automated trading.
"The tragic myth of Agamemnon, Mycenae's 'king of kings', who sacrificed his own daughter in order to sack the great city of Troy and returned home only to be assassinated by his wife and her lover, has been a constant source of fascination for writers and artists from classical Greece right up to the present day. The ancient Romans were drawn to the myth, but Seneca's tragedy is the only dramatic treatment from this tradition to have survived intact: often undervalued, it is in fact intellectually and poetically one of his richest plays - dramatically innovative, spectacular, and pervasively self-reflective. Its strong lyric and theatrical qualities - from polymetric choral odes to powerful meditative soliloquies-perfectly complement Seneca's complex presentation of the slaying of husband, father, and king and his exploration of such attendant issues as family, despotism, knowledge, gender, political order, freedom, vengeance, and death. Also containing extant Latin literature's most complex representation of two iconic women of classical myth (and occasional feminist paradigms), Clytemnestra and Cassandra, the tragedy ably transcends the narrow context of late Julio-Claudian Rome and contains much that speaks pointedly to our times. This new full-scale edition of Seneca's Agamemnon offers a comprehensive introduction, newly edited Latin text, English verse translation designed for both performance and high-level academic study, and detailed exegetic, analytic, and interpretative commentary. The aim throughout has been to elucidate the text dramatically as well as philologically, and to locate the play firmly in its contemporary historical and theatrical context and in the ensuing literary and dramatic tradition. As such, its substantial influence on European drama, opera, and ballet from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries is given especial emphasis throughout; this and the accessible notes on the text make the edition of particular use not only to scholars and students of classics, but also of comparative literature and drama, and to anyone interested in the cultural dynamics of literary reception and in the interplay between theatre and history."-- Provided by publisher
