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Before the Law
Before the Law: Humans and Other Animals in a Biopolitical Frame | Cary Wolfe
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Animal studies and biopolitics are two of the most dynamic areas of interdisciplinary scholarship, but until now, they have had little to say to each other. Bringing these two emergent areas of thought into direct conversation in Before the Law, Cary Wolfe fosters a new discussion about the status of nonhuman animals and the shared plight of humans and animals under biopolitics. Wolfe argues that the human-animal distinction must be supplemented with the central distinction of biopolitics: the difference between those animals that are members of a community and those that are deemed killable but not murderable. From this understanding, we can begin to make sense of the fact that this distinction prevails within both the human and animal domains and address such difficult issues as why we afford some animals unprecedented levels of care and recognition while subjecting others to unparalleled forms of brutality and exploitation. Engaging with many major figures in biopolitical thought—from Heidegger, Arendt, and Foucault to Agamben, Esposito, and Derrida—Wolfe explores how biopolitics can help us understand both the ethical and political dimensions of the current questions surrounding the rights of animals.
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ImaginativeMom
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For #NationalBookDay, I'm showing that every part of my house is covered with books. I'm also plugging my brother's book, Before The Law, which discusses animal studies and biopolitics. A professor at Rice University in Houston, Cary frequently writes things inaccessible to me; out of my frame of reference and even comfort zone. This, however, is accessible and perhaps critical to anyone interested in the human/non-human animal relationship.

Alisnazzy Love this. So incredibly cozy 8y
ImaginativeMom @Ambrosnazzy Thanks! That little boxed set on the left is a Winnie The Pooh collection from when I was a baby. I love it. 😊 8y
Alisnazzy @ImaginativeMom so jealous! I also love how you don't just have books in the bookcase, but beautiful decorations too. I've been trying to do that with mine. I just think it makes it even cozier and it would be something a Jane Austen character would do 😅 8y
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