Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly

“[An] intellectual enquiry of public assembly politics… The book questions the role and aspects of public assembly, performative space and the performing body… While Notes Toward A Performative Theory of Assembly posits and comments upon a range of substantial material in a relatively compact space, the writing and ideas are far from impenetrable; rather, Butler writes in an uncomplicated manner about significant ideas. The book should be read by anyone interested in political science, human rights, social activism, critical theory, gender studies, socio-legal studies and philosophy, as well as those who themselves are part of contemporary movements.”—Alexis Bushnell, LSE Review of Books
“Butler’s book is everything that a book about our planet in the 21st century should be. It does not turn its back on the circumstances of the material world or give any succour to those who wish to view the present (and the future) through the lens of fantasies about the transformative possibilities offered by conventional politics… Butler demonstrates a clear engagement with an aspect of the world that is becoming in many political contexts almost illicit to discuss: the idea that capitalism, certainly in its neoliberal form, is failing to provide a liveable life for the majority of human beings. The rhetorical question that Butler asks at the conclusion to her introduction—of how we might act together when we live in worlds in which so many forms of solidarity are diminishing—is a central question for politics throughout the world.”—Mary Evans, Times Higher Education