Empowerment The Theory and Practice of Political Genealogy [Hardcover]

This book produces an effective and persuasive account of political genealogy as practiced by a small group of contemporary political theorists following the work of Nietzsche and Foucault. Clifford demonstrates that this group has in fact practiced the kind of counter-memory Foucault envisaged and made a significant contribution to questioning several erroneous assumptions that undergird basic categories or concepts of contemporary political theory. Empowerment produces original analyses, inventive insights, and makes a valuable contribution to understanding practicing political genealogy as a way of doing political theory.In this book, Michael Clifford lays the groundwork for the formalization of political genealogy as a recognized methodology of theoretical inquiry. Appealing to scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities, this book looks to our future by focusing on the history of our present and on what being a political subject will be like in a post-representational world.One of the most promising developments in social and political theory in recent years is the research being done in the field of political genealogy. Scholars employing political genealogy as a methodology represent a wide range of disciplines, from the social sciences to the humanities, from philosophy to geography to urban studies to cultural theory. Yet there has never been a comprehensive study of political genealogy itself. Empowerment: The Theory and Practice of Political Genealogy lays the groundwork for the recognition of political genealogy as a methodology and model of theoretical inquiry, one that will be taken up by scholars from a broad range of academic disciplines. Along the way, it critically assesses some of the best examples of work in political genealogy, showing how this work forces us to rethink many of the key concepts in political theory, such as sovereignty, representation, and violence. In helping us to understand l£Î