Biopolitics: An Advanced Introduction

by Thomas Lemke, Monica Casper, Lisa Jean Moore

Overview

The first systematic overview of the notion of biopolitics and its relevance in contemporary theoretical debate

The biological features of human beings are now measured, observed, and understood in ways never before thought possible, defining norms, establishing standards, and determining average values of human life. While the notion of “biopolitics” has been linked to everything from rational decision-making and the democratic organization of social life to eugenics and racism, Thomas Lemke offers the very first systematic overview of the history of the notion of biopolitics, exploring its relevance in contemporary theoretical debates and providing a much needed primer on the topic.

Lemke explains that life has become an independent, objective and measurable factor as well as a collective reality that can be separated from concrete living beings and the singularity of individual experience. He shows how our understanding of the processes of life, the organizing of populations and the need to “govern” individuals and collectives lead to practices of correction, exclusion, normalization, and disciplining. In this lucidly written book, Lemke outlines the stakes and the debates surrounding biopolitics, providing a systematic overview of the history of the notion and making clear its relevance for sociological and contemporary theoretical debates.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814752425
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	02/15/2011
Series:	Biopolitics , #5
Pages:	158
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Thomas Lemke is Professor of Sociology at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Goethe University Frankfurt. He is author of A Critique of Political Reason: Foucault’s Analysis of Modern Governmentality and Biopolitics: An Advanced Introduction.

Table of Contents

Foreword Monica J. Casper Lisa Jean Moore vii

Preface xi

Introduction 1

1 Life as the Basis of Politics 9

2 Life as an Object of Politics 23

3 The Government of Living Beings: Michel Foucault 33

4 Sovereign Power and Bare Life: Giorgio Agamben 53

5 Capitalism and the Living Multitude: Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri 65

6 The Disappearance and Transformation of Politics 77

7 The End and Reinvention of Nature 93

8 Vital Politics and Bioeconomy 105

9 Prospect: An Analytics of Biopolitics 117

Notes 125

References 129

Index 139

About the Author 145

Editorial Reviews

"Thomas Lemke's Biopolitics: An Advanced Introductionis required reading for anyone interested in this concept."

New Genetics and Society - Carlos Novas

"[This book] advances an analytics of 'biopolitics' as a 'prospective' methodological approach, offering a number of valuable and provocative questions to guide future research."

Foucault Studies

"What Lemkes final chapter makes plain, and what can thus be read back into the book on the whole...is that biopolitics is a coherent field of inquiry for future work in anthropology, sociology, science studies, and of course history and philosophy, and that it is such precisely because it is a field of inquiry, namely an arena for rigorous investigation and severe thought... This is a crucial task. Lemke is to be applauded for showing both its coherence and its needfulness."

Theory & Event

"Lemke (Goethe Univ., Germany) offers an overview of biopolitics and an account of its relevance in theoretical debate... Recommended."

Choice

"Lemke (Goethe Univ., Germany) offers an overview of biopolitics and an account of its relevance in theoretical debate... Recommended."-Choice

"[This book] advances an analytics of 'biopolitics' as a 'prospective' methodological approach, offering a number of valuable and provocative questions to guide future research."-Foucault Studies

"What Lemke’s final chapter makes plain, and what can thus be read back into the book on the whole...is that biopolitics is a coherent field of inquiry for future work in anthropology, sociology, science studies, and of course history and philosophy, and that it is such precisely because it is a field of inquiry, namely an arena for rigorous investigation and severe thought... This is a crucial task. Lemke is to be applauded for showing both its coherence and its needfulness."-Theory & Event

"Thomas Lemke's Biopolitics: An Advanced Introduction is required reading for anyone interested in this concept."-Carlos Novas,New Genetics and Society

From the Publisher