The development of Rancières philosophical work, from his formative years through the political and methodological break with Louis Althusser and the lessons of May 68, is documented here, as are the confrontations with other thinkers, the controversies and occasional misunderstandings. So too are the unity of his work and the distinctive style of his thinking, despite the frequent disconnect between politics and aesthetics and the subterranean movement between categories and works. Lastly one sees his view of our age, and of our ages many different and competing realities. What we gain in the end is a rich and multi-layered portrait of a life and a body of thought dedicated to the exercise of philosophy and to the emergence of possible new worlds.
Jacques Rancière is a leading French philosopher and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Paris-St. Denis. His many books include The Politics of Literature, Aesthetics and Its Discontents and The Future of the Image.
FOREWORD
PART ONE: GENESES
CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH
EDUCATION
READINGCAPITAL
ATTITUDE TO COMMUNIST ENGAGEMENT
MAY 68, VINCENNES AND THEGAUCHE PROLETARIENNE
TURNING POINTS
INTHE NIGHTS OF LABOUR
BIRTH OF A METHOD: WAYS OF READING AND WRITING
MICHEL FOUCAULT
LES REVOLTES LOGIQUES AND THE FALLOUT FROM MAY 68
CINEMA, LEFT-WING FICTION AND POPULAR MEMORY
PART TWO: LINES
HERITAGE AND SINGULARITY
ANTI-SYSTEMATIC SYSTEMATICITY
PRIVILEGING SPACE, RETHINKING TIME
EXCESS OR EVENT
THE DEFINITION OF A SCENE
SUBJECTIFICATION IN WORDS
FACULTIES OR POSSIBILITIES
AESTHETIC REVOLUTION, DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION?
PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING AND ORDINARY DISCOURSES
PHILOSOPHY IN EFFECTS
THE REST IS UP TO YOU
THE LAUGHTER IN A THOUGHT
PART THREE: THRESHHOLDS
DEMYSTIFICATION OR DECONSTRUCTION
CONSENSUS AND STUPIDITY
WARDING OFF MASTERY
LOCATING THE UNCONSCIOUS
PROLETARIANS THEN AND NOW
EQUALITY/INEQUALITIES
THE ORDERING OF THE COMMON
DISIDENTIFICATION AND SUBJECTIFICATION
POLITICS AND INSTITUTIONS
THE PLACE OF THE SOCIAL
NEWNESS AND HISTORICITY
THE DISPERSAL OF IMAGES; ANOTHER ART REGIME?
POPULAR CULTURES
PART FOUR: PRESENT TENSES
MAPPING POSSIBILITIES
FIGURES OF THE PRESENT, MODALITIES OF THE POLICE
RUPTURES, REVOLUTIONS, REVOLTS
A NEW INTERNATIONALISM?
MIGRANT BODIES, SUFFERING BODIES
HUMANS, NON-HUMANS: ON POLITICAL ECOLOGY
A WORLD THAT HAS LOST ALL SENSE OF REALITY: HOW DO WE INFORM OURSELVES?
THE HUMAN INTEREST STORY, ORDINARY LIVES, INVESTIGATION
PRECARIOUS AND POPULAR ARTS OF LIVING
THE DIVISON OF THE SENSIBLE AND CONTEMPORARY ART
THE FUTURE OF SOCIALISM
POLITICAL ECONOMICS
INTERVIEWS AND DIALOGUE
INDEX
