Dispositif A Cartography

A ground-breaking anthology that places dispositifs (“apparatuses”) at the center of contemporary thought.

Dispositif is one of the most prevalent yet elusive terms in contemporary thought. This comprehensive anthology brings together formative, seminal, and contemporary texts and visual applications to illuminate how central dispositifs are to contemporary theory. Greg Bird and Giovanbattista Tusa’s selection and placement of critical texts invite readers to explore common themes and genealogies, different interpretations and readings, and their diverse deployments across multiple disciplines and genres by such figures as Karl Marx, Franz Kafka, Judith Butler, Martin Heidegger, Gilbert Simondon, Michel Foucault, Edward Said, Jasbir Puar, Donna Haraway, Giorgio Agamben, Jacques Derrida, Tiqqun, Claire Fontaine, and many others.

Dispositif: A Cartography is a true toolbox for the development of technological ecology thinking that accounts for situated knowledge. This collection provides coordinates for reorienting oneself in a permanently changing world, offering possible roadmaps for navigating these profoundly uncertain times. More than just a compilation of interventions on the dispositif, this volume acts as a guide for understanding the complex interaction between technology, philosophy, and the languages of the arts and media.

Greg Bird is Associate Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. He is a contemporary social and political theorist. His first book, Containing Community, won the 2017 Symposium Book Award (Canadian Society for Continental Philosophy).

Giovanbattista Tusa is a philosopher and video artist based at the Nova University of Lisbon in Portugal, where he coordinates the research program X-CENTRIC FUTURES. He is a coauthor, with Alain Badiou, of The End.