Books From University Presses

Empire by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri is an in-depth analysis of the new political order of globalization. It offers a philosophical transformation that is essential for modern politics, identifying a shift in concepts centring sovereignty, nation and people. Additionally, it introduces alternative political paradigms that can form the basis for a democratic global society. The analysis includes cultural and economic changes in postmodern society, networks of communication and control, transnational corporations and the increasing use of post-industrial labor and production. It is an excellent read for anyone seeking to understand globalization and the global political economy.

This book delves into the complexities of visual representation and its impact on culture, consciousness, and politics. With a focus on movies like Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" and Oliver Stone's "JFK," the author examines how images can provoke public debate or fuel political violence, making it an essential read for those interested in media and cultural studies. The book proposes a "picture theory" that offers a new perspective on the interplay between the visual and the readable, providing valuable insights into the unique power of images.

Metahistory could be a good read for history enthusiasts who are interested in exploring the deeper meaning and poetic nature of historical interpretation. Through Hayden White's argument that historical texts contain a latent linguistic element, readers will be challenged to think critically about historical explanation and interpretation. This book is a unique and fascinating exploration of the hidden messages within historical texts.

These two ambitious volumes from one of the world's most celebrated political philosophers present a new kind of political and legal theory that James Tully calls a public philosophy, and a complementary new way of thinking about active citizenship, called civic freedom. Professor Tully takes the reader step-by-step through the principal debates in political theory and the major types of political struggle today. These volumes represent a genuine landmark in political theory. In this second volume, Professor Tully studies networks and civic struggles over global or imperial relations of inequality, dependency, exploitation and environmental degradation beyond the state. The final chapter brings all of the author's resonant themes together in a new way of thinking about global and local citizenship, and of political theory in relation to it. This forms a powerful conclusion to a major intervention from a vital and distinctive voice in contemporary thought.

Time and Narrative builds on Paul Ricoeur's earlier analysis, in The Rule of Metaphor, of semantic innovation at the level of the sentence. Ricoeur here examines the creation of meaning at the textual level, with narrative rather than metaphor as the ruling concern.Ricoeur finds a "healthy circle" between time and narrative: time is humanized to the extent that it portrays temporal experience. Ricoeur proposes a theoretical model of this circle using Augustine's theory of time and Aristotle's theory of plot and, further, develops an original thesis of the mimetic function of narrative. He concludes with a comprehensive survey and critique of modern discussions of historical knowledge, understanding, and writing from Aron and Mandelbaum in the late 1930s to the work of the Annales school and that of Anglophone philosophers of history of the 1960s and 1970s."This work, in my view, puts the whole problem of narrative, not to mention philosophy of history, on a new and higher plane of discussion."—Hayden White, History and Theory "Superb. . . . A fine point of entrance into the work of one of the eminent thinkers of the present intellectual age."—Joseph R. Gusfield, Contemporary Sociology

This book could be a great fit for individuals interested in expanding their knowledge on philosophy. Bell provides readers with a critical analysis of Deleuze and Guattari's unique perspective on philosophy, highlighting their belief that philosophy is an art that involves inventing and creating concepts. This book is perfect for philosophy enthusiasts who want to explore unconventional and thought-provoking ideas.