Arundhati Roy at OWS

Posted on November 19, 2011 by stuartelden

The Guardian has a transcript. Via the Verso blog.

Posted in Politics | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Parrhesia new issue

Posted on November 19, 2011 by stuartelden

Parrhesia issue 12 is now out – Meillassoux on Badiou; Lyotard, Bennington, and others.

Posted in Alain Badiou, Publishing, Quentin Meillassoux | Leave a comment

Society and Space on Occupy

Posted on November 19, 2011 by stuartelden

Over at the Society and Space open site, Deb Cowen presents five reflections from editorial board members on the Occupy movement. Elena Trubina, Eduardo Mendieta, Juliet Fall, Ananya Roy, and Deborah Bird Rose are posted so far, with more to follow.

Posted in Politics, Society and Space | Leave a comment

Sloterdijk Now advance copy

Posted on November 18, 2011 by stuartelden

Just received an advance copy. Looks good. Should be available more widely very soon (mid December, I think). Details here.

Posted in My Publications, Peter Sloterdijk | 1 Comment

Žižek’s book on Hegel forthcoming

Posted on November 17, 2011 by stuartelden

Slavoj Žižek’s Less Than Nothing: Hegel and the Shadow of Dialectical Materialism is not yet on the Verso site, but is appearing in online bookshops (i.e. Amazon). 1,200 pages (!) and April 2012. [update – You can find the table of contents of here. Thanks to Ayşe Mermutlu for the link.]

For the last two centuries, Western philosophy has developed in the shadow of Hegel, whose influence each new thinker tries in vain to escape: whether in the name of the pre-rational Will, the social process of production, or the contingency of individual existence. Hegel’s absolute idealism has become the bogeyman of philosophy, obscuring the fact that he is the dominant philosopher of the epochal historical transition to modernity; a period with which our own time shares startling similarities. Today, as global capitalism comes apart at the seams, we are entering a new transition. In “Less Than Nothing”, the pinnacle publication of a distinguished career, Slavoj Zizek argues that it is imperative that we not simply return to Hegel but that we repeat and exceed his triumphs, overcoming his limitations by being even more Hegelian than the master himself. Such an approach not only enables Zizek to diagnose our present condition, but also to engage in a critical dialogue with the key strands of contemporary thought – Heidegger, Badiou, speculative realism, quantum physics and cognitive sciences. Modernity will begin and end with Hegel.

He mentioned the book when I saw him speak in London in July 2010, which I said a bit about at the time. Thanks to Paul Ennis for the link.

Posted in Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Slavoj Zizek | 6 Comments

2013 Humanities Research Centre fellowships

Posted on November 17, 2011 by stuartelden

The application process is open for the Australian National University’s Humanities Research Centre fellowships. I had one of these in 2011; Peter Gratton is a visitor next year. The theme is Cities, Imaginaries, Publics. It’s a wonderful place to spend three months.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Occupy!

Posted on November 17, 2011 by stuartelden

There has been a lot of powerful commentary on recent developments in the Occupy movement. Most of it has been, unsurprisingly, in non-mainstream media. Here are a few links that might be of interest.

On the Berkeley events here and here (with some video of the police breaking up the occupation). Jonathan Simon is good on this too.

A medievalist writes about the raid on Occupy Wall Street; and on the destruction of the OWS library see the Library Journal (via here) and the Verso blog. The last link also points to the forthcoming book published by Verso – Occupy!: Scenes from Occupied America. It will be out very soon and the intention is it is free at Occupy events and on sale elsewhere.

Stephen Graham was on Democracy Now discussing this in the wider context of urban policing strategies (via the Verso blog). Space and Politics has a valuable analysis. And finally, David Harvey speaking at Occupy London (via here):

David Harvey at Occupy London / November 12, 2011 / International Day of Solidarity from Elaine Castillo on Vimeo.

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טריטוריה

Posted on November 16, 2011 by stuartelden

The Hebrew translation of my ‘Land, Terrain, Territory’ piece is now available in html or pdf. (You can read some earlier thoughts on the politics of translation concerning this process in an earlier post here.)

Posted in Politics, Publishing, Territory, The Birth of Territory | Leave a comment

Dialogues in Human Geography new issue

Posted on November 13, 2011 by stuartelden

The latest issue of Dialogues in Human Geography is now online (requires subscription). It includes a piece from John Allen entitled ‘Topological twists: Power’s shifting geographies’ with responses from Anssi Paasi, me, Mat Coleman and Alan Latham. There is also a piece by Wendy Larner with responses; and a couple of book review forums, one of which is on Jane Bennett’s Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things.

Posted in Jane Bennett, My Publications, Territory | Leave a comment

A book reading meme

Posted on November 12, 2011 by stuartelden

A book meme I took from Rob Kitchin’s The View from the Blue House. I’ve largely answered in relation to non-academic reading…

The book I’m currently reading? Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

The last book I finished? Thaisa Frank, Heidegger’s Glasses

The next book I want to read? If it arrives in time, the one immediately below; if not, probably Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra

The last book I bought? Umberto Eco, The Prague Cemetery

The last book I was given? Rob Sullivan, Geography Speaks: Performative Aspects of Geography. Thanks Rob.

Which was the last book you borrowed from the library? Ok, this is where I have to go to academic stuff: The preface to Leibniz’ Novissima Sinica

What is the most recent e-book you read? H.P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness

What was the last translated book you read? Bruno Schulz, The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories

What was the first book you read this year? Wu Ming, Manituana

Which book is at the top of your Christmas list? Michel Houellebecq, The Map and the Territory (well, that’s the first novel in my Amazon wish list)

Which so-far unpublished book are you most looking forward to reading? In non-academic stuff this is difficult – I’m not that great at keeping up with what’s coming out. I am waiting for the paperbacks of China Miéville, Embassytown and Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84. In academic stuff – it will be good to have Peter Gratton’s The State of Sovereignty and Marieke de Goede’s Speculative Security out.

Posted in Books, China Mieville, Gottfried Leibniz, H.P. Lovecraft, Martin Heidegger, Peter Gratton, Umberto Eco, Wu Ming | 2 Comments