Reading Ranciere: Critical Dissensus

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Over the past 40 years, Jacques Rancire's work has defined itself through a remarkable set of philosophical differences in relation to other key figures working in the fields of politics, philosophy and aesthetics. There have been significant philosophical, theoretical and aesthetic disagreements with influential figures in contemporary thought, including Althusser, Bourdieu, Derrida, Agamben, Deleuze, Foucault, Habermas and Badiou. Through these differences Rancire has emerged as one of the world's leading contemporary theorists.

Whilst Rancire has long been a well-known force in francophone contexts, the translation of his works into English has generated a lot of excitement and catapulted him to the forefront of attention in several putatively distinct but interconnected fields: philosophy, politics, critical theory, aesthetics and film. Reading Rancire intervenes in this ongoing discourse by assembling an eminent collection of critical assessments of the significance of Rancire's diverse impact and growing influence. This book offers a sustained, critically balanced response to the work of this major contemporary theorist, as well as a new interview and a key text published here for the first time.

Reviews

"Jacques Rancire's ongoing provocations have sharpened our engagements with the relations between politics and aesthetics in ways that merit serious attention. Reading Rancire delivers the goods - a rounded and balanced collection which critically probes Rancire's work from many different perspectives. If you read Rancire, read this too." - Tony Bennett, University of Western Sydney, Australia
"The contributors to this book follow Ranciere's example in being non-reductive, critical and interventionist, including those who disagree with aspects of his work. The book is a significant examination of the dissensus that organises the Rancierian situation and demonstrates the urgent need to sustain it. Anyone interested in the productivity of Ranciere's thought will be rewarded by the contributions to this intelligent and imaginative collection." - Jeremy Valentine, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK

Author Bio

Paul Bowman teaches Cultural Studies at Cardiff University,UK. He is author of Post-Marxism versus Cultural Studies (Edinburgh UP, 2007), Deconstructing Popular Culture (Palgrave, 2008) and Theorizing Bruce Lee (Rodopi, 2009).
Richard Stamp is Lecturer in Cultural Studies and Film & Screen Studies at Bath Spa University, UK.