On the Postcolony (Studies on the History of Society and Culture Book 41)

Achille Mbembe Is One Of The Most Brilliant Theorists Of Postcolonial Studies Writing Today. In On The Postcolony He Profoundly Renews Our Understanding Of Power And Subjectivity In Africa. In A Series Of Provocative Essays, Mbembe Contests Diehard Africanist And Nativist Perspectives As Well As Some Of The Key Assumptions Of Postcolonial Theory. This Thought-provoking And Groundbreaking Collection Of Essays-his First Book To Be Published In English-develops And Extends Debates First Ignited By His Well-known 1992 Article Provisional Notes On The Postcolony, In Which He Developed His Notion Of The Banality Of Power In Contemporary Africa. Mbembe Reinterprets The Meanings Of Death, Utopia, And The Divine Libido As Part Of The New Theoretical Perspectives He Offers On The Constitution Of Power. He Works With The Complex Registers Of Bodily Subjectivity - Violence, Wonder, And Laughter - To Profoundly Contest Categories Of Oppression And Resistance, Autonomy And Subjection, And State And Civil Society That Marked The Social Theory Of The Late Twentieth Century. This Provocative Book Will Surely Attract Attention With Its Signal Contribution To The Rich Interdisciplinary Arena Of Scholarship On Colonial And Postcolonial Discourse, History, Anthropology, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychoanalysis, And Literary Criticism. Http://www.loc.gov/catdir/description/ucal041/00062854.html. Introduction: Time On The Move 1 -- 1. Of Commandement 24 -- 2. On Private Indirect Government 66 -- 3. Aesthetics Of Vulgarity 102 -- 4. Thing And Its Doubles 142 -- 5. Out Of The World 173 -- 6. God's Phallus 212 -- Conclusion: The Final Manner 235. Achille Mbembe. Original Title: Notes Provisoires Sur La Postcolonie. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 245-269) And Index. Achille Mbembe is one of the most brilliant theorists of postcolonial studies writing today. In On the Postcolony he profoundly renews our understanding of power and subjectivity in Africa. In a series of provocative essays, Mbembe contests diehard Africanist and nativist perspectives as well as some of the key assumptions of postcolonial theory.

This thought-provoking and groundbreaking collection of essays—his first book to be published in English—develops and extends debates first ignited by his well-known 1992 article "Provisional Notes on the Postcolony," in which he developed his notion of the "banality of power" in contemporary Africa. Mbembe reinterprets the meanings of death, utopia, and the divine libido as part of the new theoretical perspectives he offers on the constitution of power. He works with the complex registers of bodily subjectivity — violence, wonder, and laughter — to profoundly contest categories of oppression and resistance, autonomy and subjection, and state and civil society that marked the social theory of the late twentieth century.

This provocative book will surely attract attention with its signal contribution to the rich interdisciplinary arena of scholarship on colonial and postcolonial discourse, history, anthropology, philosophy, political science, psychoanalysis, and literary criticism. Achille Mbembe is one of the most brilliant theorists of postcolonial studies writing today. In On the Postcolony he profoundly renews our understanding of power and subjectivity in Africa. In a series of provocative essays, Mbembe contests diehard Africanist and nativist perspectives as well as some of the key assumptions of postcolonial theory. This thought-provoking and groundbreaking collection of essays -- his first book to be published in English -- develops and extends debates first ignited by his well-known 1992 article "Provisional Notes on the Postcolony," in which he developed his notion of the "banality of power" in contemporary Africa. Mbembe reinterprets the meanings of death, utopia, and the divine libido as part of the new theoretical perspectives he offers on the constitution of power. He works with the complex registers of bodily subjectivity -- violence, wonder, and laughter -- to profoundly contest categories of oppression and resistance, autonomy and subjection, and state and civil society that marked the social theory of the late twentieth century. This provocative book will surely attract attention with its signal contribution to the rich interdisciplinary arena of scholarship on colonial and postcolonial discourse, history, anthropology, philosophy, political science, psychoanalysis, and literary criticism. - Publisher. Frontmatter Introduction: Time on the Move (page 1) I. Of Commandement (page 24) 2. On Private Indirect Government (page 66) 3. The Aesthetics of Vulgarity (page 102) 4. The Thing and Its Doubles (page 142) 5. Out of the World (page 173) 6. God's Phallus (page 212) Conclusion: The Final Manner (page 235) Bibliography (page 245) Index (page 271) Enables our understanding of power and subjectivity in Africa. This book contests diehard Africanist and nativist perspectives as well as some of the key assumptions of postcolonial theory. It reinterprets the meanings of death, utopia, and the divine libido.