The American Politics of French Theory : Derrida, Deleuze, Guattari, and Foucault in Translation

Connecting French thinkers to the American sixties, __The American Politics of French Theory__ demonstrates why, in an era of mass communication and global revolt, it is politically potent and methodologically necessary to think of translation not as an act of substitution, but as a web of associations.

Working from the premise that May ‘68 is a shorthand that delimits an intensive decade of global revolt, Jason Demers documents the cross-pollination of French philosophy, international activist movements, and American countercultures. From the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and George Jackson to the revolt at Columbia University, the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Woodstock, and the Weather Underground, Demers writes French theory into a constellation of American events and icons uncontained by national borders.

More than a compelling new take on the history of theory, The American Politics of French Theory develops concepts gleaned from the work of Derrida, Deleuze, Guattari, and Foucault, providing new tools for thinking about translation, theory, and politics. By recontextualizing "French theory" within a complex fabric of mass communication and global revolt, Demers demonstrates why it is politically potent and methodologically necessary to think of translation associatively.

"Working from the premise that May '68 is a shorthand that delimits an intensive decade of global revolt, Jason Demers documents the cross-pollination of French philosophy, international activist movements, and American countercultures. From the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and George Jackson to the revolt at Columbia University, the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Woodstock, and the Weather Underground, Demers writes French theory into a constellation of American events and icons uncontained by national borders. More than a compelling new take on the history of theory, The American Politics of French Theory develops concepts gleaned from the work of Derrida, Deleuze, Guattari, and Foucault, providing new tools for thinking about translation, theory, and politics. By recontextualizing "French theory" within a complex fabric of mass communication and global revolt, Demers demonstrates why it is politically potent and methodologically necessary to think of translation associatively."-- Provided by publisher Contents 5 Figures 7 Acknowledgments 9 Abbreviations 11 Introduction: Margins, Rhizomes, Relays, and Conversation – Thinking Translation Associatively 13 1. Translating Margins: Paris–Derrida–New York, 1968 27 2. Translating Movement: Going Underground with Deleuze and Guattari 59 3. Prison Liberation by Association: Michel Foucault and the George Jackson Atlantic 122 4. In Search of Common Ground: On Semiotext(e) and Schizo-Culture 155 Conclusion: Disseminating Foreign Principles 192 Works Cited 195 Index 219