Gilles Deleuze, Postcolonial Theory, and the Philosophy of Limit - (Suspensions: Contemporary Middle Eastern and Islamicate Thou) by Réda Bensmaïa

Book Synopsis

Does a philosopher have an 'identity'? What kind of 'identity' is mobilized when the work of a philosopher becomes a major reference for certain schools of thought, as in the case of Gilles Deleuze and postcolonial theory? Have the promoters of a generalized Deleuzeanism taken care their usage of his specialized work does him justice?

Few exponents of postcolonial and subaltern theories now dispute the influence that Deleuze's work exerted on the intellectuals and theorists who developed those theories. However, this book contends that postcolonial and subaltern theorists have engaged with Deleuzean thought in ways that have perhaps produced a long series of misunderstandings - for which Deleuze himself is not responsible. By engaging with recent innovations in North African culture and by examining the dissemination of Deleuze's identities across a broad range of postcolonial theory, Réda Bensmaïa shows that the 'encounter' between Deleuze and the postcolonial movement can only be understood through the idea of a 'transcendental' field, in which Deleuze and his postcolonial followers find themselves captured.

Review Quotes

"How to think the "postcolonial" with Deleuze? With reference to key concepts such as haecceities, audiovisuality, the event, minor literature, and becoming-animal, Réda Bensmaïa offers a series of thought-provoking answers to this dynamic question. At once rigorous and open-minded, and attuned to debates in philosophy, film theory, literature, art, and geopolitics, this book is a tribute to Deleuzean discourse at its best." --Rey Chow, Anne Firor Scott Professor of Literature, Duke University, USA

"For many years now, Réda Bensmaïa has been an important voice in the study of Gilles Deleuze, one of the most important philosophers of the late 20th century. This volume is a remarkable experiment, bringing Deleuze's thought into that other territory which Bensmaïa has so impressively travelled, postcolonial theory. Bensmaïa shows how Deleuze's philosophical and political cartography can be used to chart paths through postcolonial theory, demonstrating that any attempt to think through the questions raised by postcolonial theory will have to take at least some of its bearings using Deleuze's writings." --John Noyes, Professor of German, University of Toronto, Canada

"The encounter between Deleuze's thought and postcolonial theory takes place as an event of perpetual infraction. For how can one apply a body of thought predicated on a rigorous thinking of the limit? The question lies at the heart of this luminous book by a true "pilgrim" of Deleuze's thought. Bensmaïa's account of Deleuze's work as "the philosophy of limit" avoids the anxiety and bad conscience that haunt every approach to Deleuze in the expository mode. The result is an extraordinary work whose impact will be felt far beyond its own disciplinary limits." --Timothy Bewes, Professor of English, Brown University, USA

"This superb book explores the haecceity that results when the multiple names of Deleuze encounter the postcolonial writers of the Maghreb. In his inimitable style, Réda Bensmaïa explores how Deleuze's concepts make it possible to orient the thought, the aesthetic sensibility, and the politics of the postcolony in completely new directions. Here is Deleuze 'developed from below' in relation to the minor literature of Francophone Algeria. Rather than seeking to capture and unify the multiple names of Deleuze - instead of interpreting a system of Deleuzian philosophy and applying its concepts to the postcolony - Bensmaïa reveals the liberatory potential of the extraordinary machine of expression that Deleuzian philosophy sets in motion." --Simone Bignall, Senior Lecturer, Indigenous Strategy and Engagement, Flinders University, Australia

"Réda Bensmaïa is an outstanding reader of Deleuze who always enriches our understanding of the concepts whose contours he traces. He stages novel encounters between Deleuze's texts and other arts, other thinkers. These rich and rewarding essays are essential reading for anyone interested in Deleuze, postcolonial theory and North African literatures." --Paul Patton, Scientia Professor, School of Humanities & Languages, University of New South Wales, Australia

About the Author

Réda Bensmaïa is Professor Emeritus, Formerly University Professor of French and Francophone Literature, in the Department of French Studies and the Department of Comparative Literature at Brown University, USA. He has published extensively on French and Francophone literature of the 20th century as well as on film theory and contemporary philosophy.