Spinoza, New Materialism and the Contemporary - Paperback

by Kimberly Defazio (Author)

Spinoza, New Materialism and the Contemporary is a book about change. Through its border passing interpretations, it not only transforms the dominant contemporary views of Spinoza but, more significantly, it puts into question the assumptions of those that have produced the dominant view, such as Althusser, Negri, Deleuze, as well as the new materialism and the ontological turn, including Latour, Bennett and Braidotti. These interpretations deploy Spinoza as a trope by which they suspend the class contradictions of capitalism and construct a new spiritual capitalism. This book, through materialist analysis of Spinoza, puts class back in cultural theory.

Back Jacket

"Spinoza, New Materialism and the Contemporary is an exceptional book that develops a conceptually brilliant, ground-changing interpretation. This book is a bold re-situating of the emergence of Spinoza's philosophy in the post-war period on the left, and particularly Spinoza's legacy in contemporary new materialist thought. It is far-reaching in its dealings with the philosophical context of Spinoza's writing, its tracing of Left interpretations of Spinoza since the 1960s by the New Left and their influence on contemporary "new materialism." Its meticulous analysis of the material relations shaping Spinoza's era and our own is path-breaking."

- Teresa L. Ebert, author of The Task of Cultural Critique, Ludic Feminism and Class in Culture

Spinoza, New Materialism and the Contemporary is a book about change. Through its border passing interpretations, it not only transforms the dominant contemporary views of Spinoza but, more significantly, it puts into question the assumptions of those that have produced the dominant view, such as Althusser, Negri, Deleuze, as well as the new materialism and the ontological turn, including Latour, Bennett and Braidotti. These interpretations deploy Spinoza as a trope by which they suspend the class contradictions of capitalism and construct a new spiritual capitalism. This book, through materialist analysis of Spinoza, puts class back in cultural theory.

Kimberly DeFazio is Associate Professor of English at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, USA.

Author Biography

Kimberly DeFazio is Associate Professor of English at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, USA.