Over the past 40 years, Jacques Ranciere's work has defined itself through a remarkable set of philosophical differences in relation to other key figures working in the fields of politics, philosophy and aesthetics. There have been significant philosophical, theoretical and aesthetic disagreements with influential figures in contemporary thought, including Althusser, Bourdieu, Derrida, Agamben, Deleuze, Foucault, Habermas and Badiou. Through these differences Ranciere has emerged as one of the world's leading contemporary theorists. Whilst Ranciere has long been a well-known force in francophone contexts, the translation of his works into English has generated a lot of excitement and catapulted him to the forefront of attention in several putatively distinct but interconnected fields: philosophy, politics, critical theory, aesthetics and film. Reading Ranciere intervenes in this ongoing discourse by assembling an eminent collection of critical assessments of the significance of Ranciere's diverse impact and growing influence. This book offers a sustained, critically balanced response to the work of this major contemporary theorist, as well as a new interview and a key text published here for the first time.

"Reading Ranciere" brings together leading international in the first sustained critical exploration of Ranciere's work on politics, aesthetics and philosophy in English. Over the past 40 years, Jacques Ranciere's work has defined itself through a remarkable set of philosophical differences in relation to other key figures working in the fields of politics, philosophy and aesthetics. There have been significant philosophical, theoretical and aesthetic disagreements with influential figures in contemporary thought, including Althusser, Bourdieu, Derrida, Agamben, Deleuze, Foucault, Habermas and Badiou. Through these differences Ranciere has emerged as one of the world's leading contemporary theorists. Whilst Ranciere has long been a well-known force in francophone contexts, the translation of his works into English has generated a lot of excitement and catapulted him to the forefront of attention in several putatively distinct but interconnected fields: philosophy, politics, critical theory, aesthetics and film. "Reading Ranciere" intervenes in this ongoing discourse by assembling an eminent collection of critical assessments of the significance of Ranciere's diverse impact and growing influence. This book offers the first sustained and critically balanced response to the work of this major contemporary theorist.

Slavoj Zizek is widely regarded as one of the world's most important contemporary thinkers. His work has contributed dramatically to the reinvention and revivification of many key theoretical and political debates. Indeed, his vociferous and challenging body of work amounts to a sustained, ground-breaking, terrain-shifting and far reaching intervention into a large number of academic disciplines, intellectual fields and cultural debates. "The Truth of Zizek" addresses the rigorous critical assessment demanded by this broad and increasingly influential corpus. This timely and compelling collection of essays from an international team of leading Zizekian scholars addresses the full range of Zizek's theoretical interventions, assessing critically the political, philosophical, psychoanalytical, cultural and institutional stakes of his work. Each chapter engages with and challenges Zizek's thought to explicate a key aspect of his work, clarifying its importance and challenging its claims through rigorous critique. By focusing on Zizek's contributions to these disciplines, fields and debates, this collection sets out to diagnose and assess the emergence of a 'Zizekian moment' within contemporary intellectual, cultural and political events. "The Truth of Zizek" provides the first sustained engagement with and assessment of the significant impact of Zizek's work. This compelling and valuable collection of essays from cutting edge scholars picks up the gauntlet thrown down by Zizek: the demand that his readers respond with 'the coldness and cruelty of true friendship.