Theoria

I’ll return to Jeremy’s question about Foucault’s contribution to political theory and dividing practices in another post a bit later. For now, a short comment on the theme of division. It’s long been noted that liberal political theory is political  in name only, being primarily characterized by extensive de-politicalization. Some locate it the processes of [...]

From Judith Butler’s review of Hannah Arendt’s The Jewish Writings (J. Kohn, ed): In 1948, after the UN had sanctioned the state of Israel, Arendt predicted that ‘even if the Jews were to win the war [of independence], its end would find the . . . achievements of Zionism in Palestine destroyed . . . [...]

Carl Schmitt, I think, is more often cited than read (the same is truthfully said about Bodin, by the way – why do we cite the major theorists of sovereignty and power and rule without ever reading them? the only edition of Bodin’s Six Books of the Commonwealth presently in print in a reasonable edition [...]

The most interesting part – and the least developed part as well – of my presentation/talk yesterday on Battlestar Galactica, is, as they say, “below the fold.” Due to circumstances both beyond and within my control, I didn’t actually finish putting it together until about a half hour before it was my turn to speak. [...]