The Left Hemisphere: Mapping Critical Theory Today - Softcover

"Explains the key ideas, and the contradictions within them, of authors who are often cited but rarely read." - Le Monde diplomatique "A precious tool permitting us to escape the whingeing about the mediocrity of thinkers today and to help us anticipate the tremors yet to come." - Le Nouvel observateur "Written with intelligence and clarity." - Liberation "In this courageous and audacious work, the sociologist Razmig Keucheyan offers a robust ... panorama of contemporary critical theories." - Nonfiction.fr "An impressive tour de force, providing us with a summary of contemporary critical theories that is both rigorous and clear." - Philosophie magazine

As the crisis of capitalism unfolds, the need for alternatives is felt ever more intensely. The struggle between radical movements and the forces of reaction will be merciless. A crucial battlefield, where the outcome of the crisis will in part be decided, is that of theory. Over the last twenty-five years, radical intellectuals across the world have produced important and innovative ideas. The endeavour to transform the world without falling into the catastrophic traps of the past has been a common element uniting these new approaches. This book - aimed at both the general reader and the specialist - offers the first global cartography of the expanding intellectual field of critical contemporary thought. More than thirty authors and intellectual currents of every continent are presented in a clear and succinct manner. A history of critical thought in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is also provided, helping situate current thinkers in a broader historical and sociological perspective.