Jacques Rancière

By: Oliver Davis (Assistant Professor, French Studies, University of Warwick)

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Description

This book is a critical introduction to contemporary French philosopher Jacques Rancière. It is the first introduction in any language to cover all of his major work and offers an accessible presentation and searching evaluation of his significant contributions to the fields of politics, pedagogy, history, literature, film theory and aesthetics.

This book traces the emergence of Rancière’s thought over the last forty-five years and situates it in the diverse intellectual contexts in which it intervenes. Beginning with his egalitarian critique of his former teacher Louis Althusser, the book tracks the subsequent elaboration of Rancière’s highly original conception of equality. This approach reveals that a grasp of his early archival and historiographical work is vital for a full understanding both of his later politics and his ongoing investigation of art and aesthetics.

Along the way, this book explains and analyses key terms in Rancière’s very distinctive philosophical lexicon, including the ‘police’ order, ‘disagreement’, ‘political subjectivation’, ‘literarity’, the ‘part which has no part’, the ‘regimes of art’ and ‘the distribution of the sensory’.

This book argues that Rancière’s work sets a new standard in contestatory critique and concludes by reflecting on the philosophical and policy implications of his singular project.

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* Exam copies only available to lecturers for whom the book may be suitable as a course text.
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Reviews

"An absolute model of explanatory clarity, with a level of critical distance made all the more impressive by this being the first monograph on Ranciere in any language."
French Studies

"A solid introduction to Ranciere's thought that should help facilitate the reception of his work in the English-speaking world."
Choice

"Well written and accessible ... the chapters are clear and capture the full extent of Rancière's thinking, yet they remain remarkably critical."
Ethical Perspectives

"Davis has thought through how best to introduce Rancière's philosophy and he does it convincingly and compellingly. His book will deservedly become the standard introduction and companion to Rancière for first time readers at every level."
Jay Bernstein, New School for Social Research

"Oliver Davis's Jacques Rancière is an overview of force and beauty. Working through the whole of Rancière's reflections on philosophy, politics, historiography and aesthetics, Davis offers a clear and coherent account of work that has changed the way we think about the emergence, the condition and the future of democracy."
Tom Conley, Harvard University

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface
Chapter One
The Early Politics: From Pedagogy to Equality
Chapter Two
History and Historiography
Chapter Three
The Mature Politics: From Policing to Democracy
Chapter Four
Literature
Chapter Five
Art and Aesthetics
Afterword
List of works cited
Index

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