Humanism and its aftermath Book

HUMANISM AND ITS AFTERMATH argues for a more engaged deconstruction, one that grapples with actual social institutions and practices while not compromising its articulation of the difficulties of Jacques Derrida's texts. Against more aestheticized versions of deconstructive politics, Martin argues for a fundamental relation of theory to practice. Using revolutionary and unorthodox theories and practices of Marxism as a standard for engaged theory, Martin asks if radical deconstruction can develop a sense of urgency without falling into the reductivism and narrow, interest-oriented utilitarianism of orthodox forms of Marxism. The book develops significant encounters with the work of Susan Bordo, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Alex Callinicos, as well as that of Bataille, Blanchot, Foucault, Habermas, and Rorty. But the larger aim of the book is to reground the politics of anti-imperialism and internationalism in a post-Eurocentric frame. Bill Martin's work is a most extended engagement on deconstruction and social theory; it will therefore be of interest to social theorist and others interested in the ethical and political implications of the work of Jacques Derrida. While scholars and theorists in academia will find this an important work, the book also aims to make sense of the politics of deconstruction for those outside the academy.