Extending deconstructive theory to historical and political analysis, Timothy Mitchell examines the peculiarity of Western conceptions of order and truth through a re-reading of Europe's colonial encounter with nineteenth-century Egypt.

Colonising Egypt

History

Mitchell, Timothy

Americas

University of California Press

Can one explain the power of global capitalism without attributing to capital a logic and coherence it does not have? Can one account for the powers of techno-science in terms that do not merely reproduce its own understanding of the world? Rule of Experts examines these questions through a series of interrelated essays focused on Egypt in the twentieth century. These explore the way malaria, sugar cane, war, and nationalism interacted to produce the techno-politics of the modern Egyptian state; the forms of debt, discipline, and violence that founded the institution of private property; the methods of measurement, circulation, and exchange that produced the novel idea of a national "economy," yet made its accurate representation impossible; the stereotypes and plagiarisms that created the scholarly image of the Egyptian peasant; and the interaction of social logics, horticultural imperatives, powers of desire, and political forces that turned programs of economic reform in unanticipated directions. Mitchell is a widely known political theorist and one of the most innovative writers on the Middle East. He provides a rich examination of the forms of reason, power, and expertise that characterize contemporary politics. Together, these intellectually provocative essays will challenge a broad spectrum of readers to think harder, more critically, and more politically about history, power, and theory.

Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity

Middle East

Can one explain the power of global capitalism without attributing to capital a logic and coherence it does not have? Can one account for the powers of techno-science in terms that do not merely reproduce its own understanding of the world? Rule of Experts examines these questions through a series of interrelated essays focused on Egypt in the twentieth century. These explore the way malaria, sugar cane, war, and nationalism interacted to produce the techno-politics of the modern Egyptian state; the forms of debt, discipline, and violence that founded the institution of private property; the methods of measurement, circulation, and exchange that produced the novel idea of a national "economy," yet made its accurate representation impossible; the stereotypes and plagiarisms that created the scholarly image of the Egyptian peasant; and the interaction of social logics, horticultural imperatives, powers of desire, and political forces that turned programs of economic reform in unanticipated directions. Mitchell is a widely known political theorist and one of the most innovative writers on the Middle East. He provides a rich examination of the forms of reason, power, and expertise that characterize contemporary politics. Together, these intellectually provocative essays will challenge a broad spectrum of readers to think harder, more critically, and more politically about history, power, and theory.

Business & Money

Economics

Based on a wide reading of Arabic and European sources, this book attempts to extend deconstructive critique to historical and political analysis. The author interprets the modern West through a re-reading of Europe's colonial impact on 19th-century Europe.

Colonising Egypt (Cambridge Middle East Library, Series Number 17)

Cambridge University Press

Violence and Piety in Spanish Folklore

Violence and piety in Spanish folklore

University of Pennsylvania Press

Blood Sport: A Social History of Spanish Bullfighting

In "Blood Sport", Timothy Mitchell describes how public animal slaughter came to occupy a central place in the world view of one Western nation. Unlike books that romanticize matadors or mystify their "art", "Blood Sport" restores bullfighting to its social and historical context. It explores both the primitive passions of rural fiestas and the harsh process of selection that lies behind the urban bullfight as we know it today. The text attempts to unravel the strands of religion, class conflict, nationalism, political corruption and machismo that make bullfighting a microcosm of Spanish society. The physical and psychological trauma of matadors are also probed, and an engrossing discussion of blood sport in ancient Rome enables the reader to grasp the "pornographic" fascination that bullfighting holds for masses of spectators.

Sports & Outdoors

In recent times, priests charged with sexual abuse have captured headlines and bankrupted dioceses all over the United States. But these cases have not exacerbated class conflict, threatened the stability of the government, despoiled national folklore, obsessed several literary generations, or led to the murder of thousands of priests. Spain has seen all of this and more. Timothy Mitchell's powerful and compelling book is the first to assess the long-term consequences of clergy sexual activity in another culture.Mitchell shows how the extreme idealization of motherhood promoted by Spanish Catholicism greatly increased the frequency of exploitative events. The resulting spiritual and social conflicts affected every area of cultural life: film, literature, law, show business, child-rearing, psychiatry, and gynecology are among the many Mitchell explores. When anticlerical writers and politicians were crushed by Franco with the aid of fascist women's organizations, Spanish children were subjected to another long period of authoritarian sexuality. The battle for custody of their minds is far from over; Betrayal of the Innocents concludes with a look at current trends and salutes new generations of Spaniards recovering from a legacy of clergy abuse unlike anything in American experience.

Betrayal of the Innocents: Desire, Power, and the Catholic Church in Spain (Anniversary Collection)

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

University of Pennsylvania Press Anniversary Collection

World

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mitchell, Timothy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mitchell, Timothy

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mitchell, Timothy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Colonising Egypt

Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity

Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity

Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity

Colonising Egypt (Cambridge Middle East Library, Series Number 17)

Violence and piety in Spanish folklore

Blood Sport: A Social History of Spanish Bullfighting

Betrayal of the Innocents: Desire, Power, and the Catholic Church in Spain (Anniversary Collection)

Blood Sport: A Social History of Spanish Bullfighting

Betrayal of the Innocents: Desire, Power, and the Catholic Church in Spain (Anniversary Collection)