Claire Colebrook - Böcker

Drawing upon and extending the theoretical insights of Deleuze, Foucault and Agamben, this volume considers the concept of life as it operates in law, politics and contemporary culture. It focuses on key legal cases (such as the Terri Schiavo case in the US), political events (such as the post 9/11 internment camp) and new cultural phenomena.

Posthumous Life launches critical life studies: a mode of inquiry that neither endorses nor dismisses a wave of recent "turns" toward life, matter, vitality, inhumanity, animality, and the real. Questioning the nature and limits of life in the natural sciences, the essays in this volume examine the boundaries and significance of the human and the humanities in the wake of various redefinitions of what counts as life. They explore the possibility of theorizing life without assuming it to be either a simple substrate or an always-mediated effect of culture and difference. Posthumous Life provides new ways of thinking about animals, plants, humans, difference, sexuality, race, gender, identity, the earth, and the future.

Posthumous Life launches critical life studies: a mode of inquiry that neither endorses nor dismisses a wave of recent "turns" toward life, matter, vitality, inhumanity, animality, and the real. Questioning the nature and limits of life in the natural sciences, the essays in this volume examine the boundaries and significance of the human and the humanities in the wake of various redefinitions of what counts as life. They explore the possibility of theorizing life without assuming it to be either a simple substrate or an always-mediated effect of culture and difference. Posthumous Life provides new ways of thinking about animals, plants, humans, difference, sexuality, race, gender, identity, the earth, and the future.

Why has Western thought been so persistent in its organisation of human bodies, and other categories, in terms of the binary opposition male and female? Is gender nothing more than an ideology, or does it have its basis in sexual difference?This invaluable introductory guide offers a clear overview of the concept, and problem, of gender. Claire Colebrook places the term in its historical contexts and traces its development from the Enlightenment to the present, before moving on to the evolution of the concept of gender from within the various stances of feminist criticism, and exploring recent developments in queer theory and post-feminism. Close analysis of key literary texts, including Frankenstein, Paradise Lost and A Midsummer Night's Dream, shows how specific styles of literature enable reflection on gender.

Why has Western thought been so persistent in its organisation of human bodies, and other categories, in terms of the binary opposition male and female? Is gender nothing more than an ideology, or does it have its basis in sexual difference?This invaluable introductory guide offers a clear overview of the concept, and problem, of gender. Claire Colebrook places the term in its historical contexts and traces its development from the Enlightenment to the present, before moving on to the evolution of the concept of gender from within the various stances of feminist criticism, and exploring recent developments in queer theory and post-feminism. Close analysis of key literary texts, including Frankenstein, Paradise Lost and A Midsummer Night's Dream, shows how specific styles of literature enable reflection on gender.

A genuine attempt to think differently, Gilles Deleuze's work challenges, provokes and frustrates. Surprisingly practical as well as innovative, it is now being seen as a 'must read' for students and scholars across the humanities and social sciences. Claire Colebrook's Understanding Deleuze offers a comprehensive and very accessible introduction to his work. hink differently. It is built on the notion of an immanent ethics: how can we have a political and ethical theory without some external foundation such as the subject or morality? He argues that the only way we can do this is with a theory of the virtual, and he sees all life (not just cyberculture) as virtual. Deleuze goes further than Foucault or Derrida in questioning the boundaries of the subject and knowledge. For Deleuze perception extends beyond the human, to animals, machines and microorganisms.Deleuze's writing is challenging and hard to read, and so far there is no introduction to his work. Claire Colebrook's primer offers an accessible introduction to the whole Deleuzian oeuvre, including the work he did with Guattari.

Why think? Not, according to Gilles Deleuze, in order to be clever, but because thinking transforms life. Why read literature? Not for pure entertainment, Deleuze tells us, but because literature can recreate the boundaries of life. With his emphasis on creation, the future and the enhancement of life, along with his crusade against 'common sense', Deleuze offers some of the most liberating, exhilarating ideas in twentieth-century thought. This book offers a way in to Deleuzean thought through such topics as:* 'becoming'* time and the flow of life* the ethics of thinking* 'major' and 'minor' literature* difference and repetition* desire, the image and ideology.Written with literature students in mind, this is the ideal guide for students wishing to think differently about life and literature and in this way to create their own new readings of literary texts.

Why think? Not, according to Gilles Deleuze, in order to be clever, but because thinking transforms life. Why read literature? Not for pure entertainment, Deleuze tells us, but because literature can recreate the boundaries of life. With his emphasis on creation, the future and the enhancement of life, along with his crusade against 'common sense', Deleuze offers some of the most liberating, exhilarating ideas in twentieth-century thought. This book offers a way in to Deleuzean thought through such topics as:* 'becoming'* time and the flow of life* the ethics of thinking* 'major' and 'minor' literature* difference and repetition* desire, the image and ideology.Written with literature students in mind, this is the ideal guide for students wishing to think differently about life and literature and in this way to create their own new readings of literary texts.

In this handy volume, Claire Colebrook offers an overview of the history and structure of irony, from Socrates to the present.Students will welcome this clear, concise guide, which:*traces the use of the concept through history, from Greek times to the Romantic period and on to the postmodern era*looks closely at the work of Socrates and the more contemporary theorists Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze*explores the philosophical, literary and political dimensions of irony*applies theories of irony to literary textsMaking even the most difficult debates accessible and clear, this is the ideal student introduction to the many theories of irony.

In this handy volume, Claire Colebrook offers an overview of the history and structure of irony, from Socrates to the present.Students will welcome this clear, concise guide, which:*traces the use of the concept through history, from Greek times to the Romantic period and on to the postmodern era*looks closely at the work of Socrates and the more contemporary theorists Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze*explores the philosophical, literary and political dimensions of irony*applies theories of irony to literary textsMaking even the most difficult debates accessible and clear, this is the ideal student introduction to the many theories of irony.

Paul de Man is often associated with an era of ‘high theory’, an era it is argued may now be coming to a close. This book, written by three leading contemporary scholars, includes both a transcript and facsimile print of a previously unpublished text by de Man of his handwritten notes for a lecture on Walter Benjamin. Challenging and relevant, this volume presents de Man’s work as a critical resource for dealing with the most important questions of the twenty-first century and argues for the place of theory within it.The humanities are flooded with crises of globalism, capitalism and terrorism, contemporary narratives of financial collapse, viral annihilation, species extinction, environmental disaster and terrorist destruction. Cohen, Colebrook and Miller draw out the implications of these crises and their narratives and, reflecting on this work by de Man, explore the limits of political thinking, of historical retrieval and the ethics of archives and cultural memory.

Paul de Man is often associated with an era of ‘high theory’, an era it is argued may now be coming to a close. This book, written by three leading contemporary scholars, includes both a transcript and facsimile print of a previously unpublished text by de Man of his handwritten notes for a lecture on Walter Benjamin. Challenging and relevant, this volume presents de Man’s work as a critical resource for dealing with the most important questions of the twenty-first century and argues for the place of theory within it.The humanities are flooded with crises of globalism, capitalism and terrorism, contemporary narratives of financial collapse, viral annihilation, species extinction, environmental disaster and terrorist destruction. Cohen, Colebrook and Miller draw out the implications of these crises and their narratives and, reflecting on this work by de Man, explore the limits of political thinking, of historical retrieval and the ethics of archives and cultural memory.

Until recently, "continental" philosophy has been tied either to the German tradition of phenomenology or to French post-structuralist concerns with the conditions of language and textuality. Giorgio Agamben draws upon and departs from both these lines of thought by directing his entire corpus to the problem of life - political life, human life, animal life, and the life of art. Influenced by the work of Martin Heidegger, Walter Benjamin, and the broader tradition of critical Marxism, Agamben's work poses the profound question for our time - just how exceptional are human beings?This beautifully written book provides a systematic, engaging overview of Agamben's writings on theology, aesthetics, political theory, and sovereignty. Covering the full range of Agamben's work to date, Claire Colebrook and Jason Maxwell explain Agamben's theology and philosophy by referring the concepts to some of today's most urgent political and ethical problems. They focus on the audacious way in which Agamben reconceptualizes life itself. Assessing the significance of the concepts key to his work, such as biopolitics, sovereignty, the "state of exception," and "bare life," they demonstrate his wide-ranging influence across the humanities.

Until recently, "continental" philosophy has been tied either to the German tradition of phenomenology or to French post-structuralist concerns with the conditions of language and textuality. Giorgio Agamben draws upon and departs from both these lines of thought by directing his entire corpus to the problem of life - political life, human life, animal life, and the life of art. Influenced by the work of Martin Heidegger, Walter Benjamin, and the broader tradition of critical Marxism, Agamben's work poses the profound question for our time - just how exceptional are human beings?This beautifully written book provides a systematic, engaging overview of Agamben's writings on theology, aesthetics, political theory, and sovereignty. Covering the full range of Agamben's work to date, Claire Colebrook and Jason Maxwell explain Agamben's theology and philosophy by referring the concepts to some of today's most urgent political and ethical problems. They focus on the audacious way in which Agamben reconceptualizes life itself. Assessing the significance of the concepts key to his work, such as biopolitics, sovereignty, the "state of exception," and "bare life," they demonstrate his wide-ranging influence across the humanities.

Ever since Deleuze and Guattari provocatively declared that all 'becoming' must go by way of a 'becoming-woman' their work has been the subject of intense feminist interrogation. This volume highlights the key points of this ongoing inquiry, focusing particularly on the implications of Deleuze's work for a specifically feminist philosophy. Deleuze and Feminist Theory brings together the work of some of Deleuze's finest commentators and today's most important feminist thinkers. For Deleuze, reading a philosopher or thinker ought never to be a question of blind allegiance or assessing the correctness of methods. Engagement with a thinker is most productive when considered in terms of what a body of thought can do, how concepts create events and how thinking can mobilise desire. It is in this spirit that the essays in this book engage with the work of Deleuze, and Deleuze and Guattari. Deleuze is neither wholeheartedly embraced as an answer to feminist questions, nor rejected as yet one more masculinist error in the history of reason. Rather, Deleuze presents feminism with a challenge and a question: how to think? The work gathered here responds to this challenge with a series of further questions opened by the Deleuzean project. How might desire be thought positively? What can a body do? How might women become? And how might feminism be thought as an event? Including new work by Elizabeth Grosz, Rosi Braidotti and Dorothea Olkowski and essays on film, the colonial imaginary, desire and embodiment, Deleuze and Feminist Theory offers asustained consideration of the impact of Deleuze on feminist thought.Key Features*Provides an introduction to Deleuze for those working in feminist theory and philosophy*Includes new work by major feminist theorists*Provides a broad approach to several areas of Deleuze's work, including film, politics, literature and feminism*Relates Deleuze's work to its historical and philosophical context

A critique and overview of contemporary post-structuralist theory.Exploring the Kantian and phenomenological background of Derrida, Deleuze, Foucault and Irigaray, this book raises some key questions and issues in critical theory. Is it still possible to sustain a transcendental critical project? How do such projects fare in the current terrain of cultural studies and anti-representationalism? Key Features* Original contribution to ethical and critical theory.* Situates poststructuralism in its philosophical background, and in the sustained problematic of the enlightenment.* Offers a critique of various appeals made to a would-be post-metaphysical or post-human culture.First published in hardback as Ethics and Representation: From Kant to Post-Structuralism

Despite the fact that time, evolution, becoming and genealogy are central concepts in Deleuze's work there has been no sustained study of his philosophy in relation to the question of history. This book aims to open up Deleuze's relevance to those working in history, the history of ideas, science studies, evolutionary psychology, history of philosophy and interdisciplinary projects inflected by historical problems. The essays in this volume (all by internationally recognised Deleuze scholars) cover all aspects of Deleuze's philosophy and its relation to history, ranging from the application of Deleuze's philosophy to historical method, Deleuze's own use of the history of philosophy, his interpretations of other historical thinkers (such as Hume and Nietzsche) and the complex theories of time and evolution in his work. Contributors include: Paul Patton, Manuel DeLanda, John Protevi, Ian Buchanan, Tim Flanagan, James Williams, Eve Bischoff, Jay Lampert.

Unlike other philosophers whose work can be applied to questions of sex and gender, Deleuze's philosophy was motivated by the problem of desire and difference. Over the last three decades, feminist theory, gender theory and queer theory have been revolutionised and rejuvenated by Deleuze's provocation to consider sexual difference beyond the paradigm of the Oedipal family and Western humanism. In this volume, a series of prominent critical theorists extend Deleuze's already radical philosophy into ideas of the post-human, truth, reading, sexual difference and gender politics. Moving beyond the tired debates surrounding sex, gender and representation, these essays consider difference positively and provocatively, opening up new directions for the study of sexuality.

In an era that proclaims itself postironic, the question and problem of irony are of more interest than ever. In this compelling inquiry, Claire Colebrook first takes up all the major figures in post-Cartesian philosophy on the subject of irony: Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, and Nietzsche. She similarly examines the modern thinkers in the Anglo-Saxon tradition: Rorty, Searle, and de Man. She then engages in an analysis of the Continental canon and the ironic dimension that marks contemporary philosophy. Beyond the question of irony, Colebrook treats the presence of irony in the history of philosophy and those points of overlap between nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature and philosophy. Ultimately, she extends what has belonged primarily to the domain of literature into a world of concepts.

"Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to fathom, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material. Gilles Deleuze is undoubtedly one of the seminal figures in modern Continental thought. However, his philosophy makes considerable demands on the student; his major works make for challenging reading and require engagement with some difficult concepts and complex systems of thought. "Deleuze: A Guide for the Perplexed" is the ideal text for anyone who needs to get to grips with Deleuzian thought, offering a thorough, yet approachable account of the central themes in his work. The text is organised around major themes in Deleuze's oeuvre: sense; univocity; intuition; singularity; difference. His ideas related to language, politics, ethics and consciousness are explored in detail and - most importantly - clarified.The book also locates Deleuze in the context of his philosophical influences and antecedents and highlights the implications of his ideas for a range of disciplines from politics to film theory. Throughout, close attention is paid to Deleuze's most influential publications, including the landmark texts "The Logic of Sense and Difference and Repetition".

"Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to fathom, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material. Gilles Deleuze is undoubtedly one of the seminal figures in modern Continental thought. However, his philosophy makes considerable demands on the student; his major works make for challenging reading and require engagement with some difficult concepts and complex systems of thought. "Deleuze: A Guide for the Perplexed" is the ideal text for anyone who needs to get to grips with Deleuzian thought, offering a thorough, yet approachable account of the central themes in his work. The text is organised around major themes in Deleuze's oeuvre: sense; univocity; intuition; singularity; difference. His ideas related to language, politics, ethics and consciousness are explored in detail and - most importantly - clarified.The book also locates Deleuze in the context of his philosophical influences and antecedents and highlights the implications of his ideas for a range of disciplines from politics to film theory. Throughout, close attention is paid to Deleuze's most influential publications, including the landmark texts "The Logic of Sense and Difference and Repetition".

"Milton, Evil and Literary History" addresses the ways in which we read literary history according to quite specific images of growth, development, progression, flourishing and succession. Goodness has always been aligned with a life of expansion, creation, production and fruition, while evil is associated with the inert, non-relational, static and stagnant. These associations have also underpinned a distinction between good and evil notions of capitalism, where good exchange enables the agents to enhance their living potential and is contrasted with the evils of a capitalism system that circulates without any reference to life or spirit. Such images of a ghostly and technical economy divorced from animating origin are both central to Milton's theology and poetry and to the theories of literary history through which Milton is read.Regarded as a radical precursor to Romanticism, Milton's poetry supposedly requires the release of his radical spiritual content from the fetters of received orthodoxy.This literary and historical imagery of releasing the radical spirit of a text from the dead weight of received tradition is, this book argues, the dominant doxa of historicism and one which a counter-reading of Milton ought to question.

This is a new and original monograph from a leading Deleuzian scholar exploring the central issues of life, science, language and art in Deleuze's work. The intensification of interest in Deleuze over the last decade has coincided with the end of the linguistic paradigm in both continental and analytic philosophy. Indeed, the division between the two traditions appears to be closing and the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze seems to be crucial to this convergence, as he is both indebted to the phenomenological tradition at the same time as he operates with concepts drawn from the sciences.Claire Colebrook explores these ideas and offers a new and alternative assessment of Deleuze's contribution to philosophy. She argues that while Deleuze does draw upon sciences that explain the emergence of language, art and philosophy, his own thought is distinguished by a discontinuist thesis: systems may emerge from tendencies of life but always have the capacity to operate without reference to their original aim. Colebrook makes new claims regarding how Deleuze's philosophy might be used to read contemporary art and thus offers an original and crucial contribution to the Deleuzian debate.

Drawing upon and extending the theoretical insights of Deleuze, Foucault and Agamben, this volume considers the concept of life as it operates in law, politics and contemporary culture. It focuses on key legal cases (such as the Terri Schiavo case in the US), political events (such as the post 9/11 internment camp) and new cultural phenomena.

The intensification of interest in Deleuze over the last decade has coincided with the end of the linguistic paradigm in both continental and analytic philosophy. Indeed, the division between the two traditions appears to be closing and the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze seems to be crucial to this convergence, as he is both indebted to the phenomenological tradition at the same time as he operates with concepts drawn from the sciences. Claire Colebrook explores these ideas and offers a new and alternative assessment of Deleuze's contribution to philosophy. She argues that while Deleuze does draw upon sciences that explain the emergence of language, art and philosophy, his own thought is distinguished by a discontinuist thesis: systems may emerge from tendencies of life but always have the capacity to operate without reference to their original aim. Colebrook makes new claims regarding how Deleuze's philosophy might be used to read contemporary art and thus offers an original and crucial contribution to the Deleuzian debate.

This is an exploration of new aspects of Blake's work using the concept of incarnation and drawing on theories of contemporary digital media. Drawing on recent theories of digital media and on the materiality of words and images, this fascinating study makes three original claims about the work of William Blake. First, Blake offers a critique of digital media. His poetry and method of illuminated printing is directed towards uncovering an analogical language. Second, Blake's work can be read as a performative. Finally, Blake's work is at one and the same time immanent and transcendent, aiming to return all forms of divinity and the sacred to the human imagination, stressing that 'all deities reside in the human breast,' but it also stresses that the human has powers or potentials that transcend experience and judgement: deities reside in the human breast. These three claims are explored through the concept of incarnation: the incarnation of ideas in words and images, the incarnation of words in material books and their copies, the incarnation of human actions and events in bodies, and the incarnation of spirit in matter.

This title uses reading of Milton, in particular "Paradise Lost", to raise wider questions about current theories of literary history. Using the work of John Milton and his conflict between good and evil, Claire Colebrook shows exactly how we read literary history according to quite specific images of growth, development, progression, flourishing and succession. Colebrook illustrates not only how goodness is aligned with images of a life of expansion, creation, production and fruition, while evil is associated with the inert, non-relational, static and stagnant, but how these associations have also underpinned a distinction between good and evil notions of capitalism. Informed by an expansive corpus of philosophical texts, including Kant, Aristotle, Deleuze and Derrida, Colebrook's study presents a new, surprising, theory of literary history and makes a significant contribution to Milton studies.

Drawing on recent theories of digital media and on the materiality of words and images, this fascinating study makes three original claims about the work of William Blake. First, Blake offers a critique of digital media. His poetry and method of illuminated printing is directed towards uncovering an analogical language. Second, Blake's work can be read as a performative. Finally, Blake's work is at one and the same time immanent and transcendent, aiming to return all forms of divinity and the sacred to the human imagination, stressing that 'all deities reside in the human breast,' but it also stresses that the human has powers or potentials that transcend experience and judgement: deities reside in the human breast. These three claims are explored through the concept of incarnation: the incarnation of ideas in words and images, the incarnation of words in material books and their copies, the incarnation of human actions and events in bodies, and the incarnation of spirit in matter.

Winner of the 2024 Hugh J. Silverman Book PrizeWho Would You Kill to Save the World? examines how postapocalyptic cinema uses images from the past and present to depict what it means to preserve the world-and who is left out of the narrative of rebuilding society. Claire Colebrook redefines “the world” as affluent Western society and “saving the world” as preventing us from becoming the othered them who are viewed in their suffering. Colebrook further examines how the use of postapocalyptic cinema is a humanist-Western, capitalist, colonizing, white, heteronormative, and individualist-creation and challenges the notion that a world built on foundations of exploitation is worth saving.Colebrook combines postapocalyptic fiction, concern over the global climate crisis, colonialism, and anti-Blackness to explain how contemporary postapocalypse blockbusters circulate ideas of whiteness and the right of the privileged to rebuild the world. Who Would You Kill to Save the World? is a provocative addition to the field of extinction studies and challenges the conceptual frames we use to define ourselves.