He received his BA in the History and Theory of Literature from Tel Aviv University and his PhD from UCLA. His first book, titled "The Philosophy of Life and Death: Ludwig Klages and the Rise of a Nazi Biopolitics" (2013) focused on the circle around the Lebensphilosopher and anti-Semitic thinker Ludwig Klages. His second book, about "Zionism and Melancholia: The Short Life of Israel Zarchi" was published in Hebrew in 2015 and is expected soon in English. Nitzan is also the co-editor of "The Politics of Nihilism" (2014) and of "Catastrophe: A History and Theory of an Operative Concept" (2014), and of special issues of Rethinking History (Nihilism), Zmanim (Religion and Power), and The New German Critique (Political Theology).