The Agamben Effect

Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben - whose work has influenced intellectuals in political theory, political philosophy, legal theory, literature, and art - stands among the foremost thinkers of the modern era. This title examines his seminal works "Homo Sacer" (1995), "The Open" (2002), and "State of Exception" (2003).

Some contributors use Agamben's work to examine the history of abortion law in the West, the history of slavery, and women's rights. Others analyze the connections between Agamben's work and that of his contemporaries, including Jacques Derrida, Slavoj eiuek, and Jean-Luc Nancy. Other essays identify new points of interdisciplinary communication between some of Agamben's most provocative ideas and popular twentieth-century writing.