Giorgio Agamben

Simon Morgan-Wortham (Kingston University)

Ed. by Graham Allen, University College Cork
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.1: Italian Writing and Culture, 453-present.
Vol. editors: Carla Bregman (Independent Scholar - North America), Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University)

Dates

Born 22 Apr 1942
Activity 1962-ongoing

Places

Born in Italy
Active in Italy

Activities

Primary

Philosopher
Political Theorist

Resources

Agamben's Works

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A student of Martin Heidegger, an acknowledged Walter Benjamin expert, and trained in classical and medieval philology, linguistics and philosophy, the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben draws upon a vast body of scholarship and erudition (which also includes Enlightenment thought, scientific taxonomy and anthropology from the eighteenth century onwards, juridical and legal discourse in the Western tradition, right up to twentieth century continental philosophy), in order to throw light on a variety of contemporary questions of the most pressing kind. One feature of Agamben’s work is the way that he reanimates – as an historical legacy – the dynamic force-field of a network of ancient words, concepts and problems, bringing this understanding to bear on a variety of contemporary…

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2604 words

Citation: Morgan-Wortham, Simon. "Giorgio Agamben". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 March 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11699, accessed 22 November 2024.]