States of Injury - by Wendy Brown (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A landmark work from one of our leading political theorists

A sympathetic critique that attempts to free Left politics from its own snares, States of Injury explores how woundedness became a basis for contemporary political identity. Without condemning identity politics, Wendy Brown carefully probes the varied historical forces generating them today and the ways these formative conditions constrain emancipatory desire. Along the way, she advances a novel feminist critical theory of liberalism and the liberal democratic state. She also develops an original theoretical practice that weaves together Nietzsche, Marx, Weber, Foucault, and cultural theories of gender and race to analyze contemporary political predicaments.

From the Back Cover

"A compelling and original book which provides critical and much needed insight into the workings of contemporary American politics. There isn't anyone else doing this kind of work in political theory."--Joan W. Scott, Institute for Advanced Study

Review Quotes

"Wendy Brown undertakes a critical analysis of late modern state power to reveal how identity politics translated into rights claims. . . . [This study] significantly advances our understanding of aspects of politics where particular identities and universal rights are currently in conflict."-- "American Political Science Review"

About the Author

Wendy Brown is the UPS Foundation Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study. Her books include Nihilistic Times, In the Ruins of Neoliberalism, and Undoing the Demos.