pas au-delà: Theory's Empire: Dissenting With "Dissent"

Here, for those googling in especially, is a collection of links dealing with the blogosphere's reception of Theory's Empire (although some of them were always already receiving), and more specifically with the reception of the The Valve's reception of Theory's Empire. These are links to very thoughtful posts you may not otherwise find simply by googling the words, "Theory's Empire". They are collected here only to help facilitate an honest and open debate. This page may be updated as time goes by; further suggestions for links dissenting with dissent are of course welcome.

• Mark Kaplan: T1 and t2?; Prosthetic Thoughts; Breaking News; Cover Charge; Thought for the Day; Interruption Continuation; The Para-Costives; Haloscan; Coda to coda

• Jodi Dean: What's so scary about theory?; a comment; The challenge of thinking without a head

• Kenneth Rufo: On Theory and it's Empire, 1: the Pedagogy of Reception; On Theory and it's Empire, 2: the Politics of Capitalization; a comment; another comment

Craig: Mere Theory?; The Value of Theory; On Classification; Ian Hunter's "The History of Theory"

• John Ransom: a comment; another comment; a joke; another comment; making fun of theory's empire; theory's empire: the intro; rewriting the introduction to theory's empire

• Adam Kotsko: A Response to the Deconstructive Angel; a comment; another comment; Against My Better Judgement

• Michael Bérubé: Theory Tuesday I; Engine Trouble; Theory Tuesday II; Theory Tuesday III; Theory Tuesday IV

• Will Large: Philosophy as a Consumer Good

• Mark Henson: a comment

John McGowen: Nussbaum v. Butler, Round One; Theory Tuesday: Nussbaum v. Butler, Round Two

• Ray Davis: Pull in Your Head, We're Coming to a Tunnel

• Matt Christie: Theory, Having Just Begun; The Deconstruction Jetty and It's Resistance to Theory ; And more...

• Archive: sometim3s: Theory and Empire; Oikos Academicus

* Larval Subjects: Against Theory

• John Holbo, on Heidegger

• Scott Eric Kaufman: Let the Market Speak! Market, Dear Market, How Can We Help You? or We Hate Your Ears!; Theory Friday: In Which Our Hero Discusses the Merits of His Heroism and Finds Them Wanting; Anti-Thoughts about the Anti-Desires of the Deeply Stupid, or Ideas Obscured by Assumptions; Bulwark Against An Actual Empire, or another Maginot Line?

• Christoph Wimmer-Kleikamp: What the Hell is Multi-Culturalism Anyway?; Stability Outside Humanity or Reason?

• Spurious: His Majesty the Baby

• Kerim Friedman: France In The 60s

• Amardeep Singh: Four Challenges to Postcolonial Theory

• Jeffrey Wallen: The Death and Discontent of Theory

• Alphonse Van Worden: Rationality's Latest Advertisement; Die Fledermaus

And finally, tacked on just for the hell of it, and if only to help us keep this word, "Empire" itself in properly uncalcified perspective, here is something by Scott McLemee:

Asked about this criticism, Mr. Hardt responds, "We're certainly not in the business of writing manifestoes, or What Is to Be Done?" He does indicate, however, that his work with Mr. Negri has now reached the stage where they need to "think global democracy today" -- that is, develop some notion of what would replace Empire.

"People spend a lot of time criticizing contemporary global institutions, and the insufficiency of national institutions as well," he says. "The obvious thing, of course, is to ask: What would an alternative look like, and where would it come from?" Some of those questions begin to emerge in the final pages of Multitude, but not the answers.

"Toni's talking about volume three," says Mr. Hardt. They are at the early stage of what sounds like a well-established routine. "We exchange letters about criticisms of the last book. We give each other reading lists." (Eventually, someone's academic career will be made from analyzing the documents of how an American professor and an Italian revolutionary collaborated on their books.)

After Empire and Multitude, Mr. Hardt says, "We need a little rest." But it is clear that Mr. Negri is ready to push on to the next phase -- defining a new vision of some still newer world order. The multitude waits, patiently or otherwise.