Understanding Badiou, Understanding Modernism

In his philosophical project, aesthetic orientation and political leanings, Alain Badiou is a product of, and a leading advocate for, European modernism. From the milieu of May 1968 to the contemporary postmodern ethos, Badiou returns, time and again, to avant-garde modernist texts aesthetic, political, philosophical and scientific as inspiration for his response to present situations. Drawing upon disciplines as varied as architecture, cinema, theatre, music, history, mathematics, poetry and philosophy, Understanding Badiou, Understanding Modernism shows how Badious contribution to philosophy must be understood within the context of his decades-long conversation with modernist thinking. As with other volumes in the series, Understanding Badiou, Understanding Modernism follows a three part structure. The first section explores Badious readings of aesthetic, political and scientific modernities; both introducing his system and pointing to how Badiou offers manifold readings of modernism. The middle portion of the book connects Badious thought with the various strands of aesthetic, philosophical, amorous and political modernisms in relation to which it can be extended. The final section is a glossary of key concepts and categories that Badiou uses in his interface with modernism.