By Alex Murray Published April 14th 2010 by Routledge – 154
pages Series: Routledge Critical Thinkers 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’. Alex Murray explains Agamben’s key
ideas, including: 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.
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