Slavoj Zizek: Live Theory

Description

Slavoj Zizek is undoubtedly one of the world's leading cultural critics. His witty, psychoanalytically-inspired analyses of contemporary society have almost single-handedly revived the notion of ideology. His brilliant commentaries on the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan and the 19th century German Idealists have brought alive their often difficult ideas for a new generation of readers. But does Zizek have anything to say in his own right? Is there a system of thought that we can properly call "Zizekian"? This book argues that there is, through a reading of two terms in his work - the master-signifier and the act. Featuring an interview with Zizek himself, Slavoj Zizek: Live Theory presents a snapshot of the Zizek system ideal for undergraduates in social and cultural theory and philosophy.

Rex Butler is Professor of Art History at the School of Art, Design and Architecture, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. His previous publications include Jean Baudrillard: The Defence of the Real (1999).

"There is no doubt that Butler's book clarifies philosophical aspects of Zizek's work in a manner impossible for the writer himself." -Paula Murphy, International Journal of Baudrillard Studies, January 2006 "...the danger is that philosophers might pick up Live Theory under the assumption that it is an accessible introduction to Zizek and end up dismissing him with Butler's paradoxical formulations in mind-Zizek is literally psychotic', Zizek really has 'nothing to say'." -Roderick Nicholls, Philosophy in Review -- Negative