Interrogating the Real: Selected Writings [Hardcover]

Slavoj Zizek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2005

Interrogating the Real is the first volume of the collected writings of Slavoj Ž iž ek--undoubtedly one of the world's leading contemporary cultural commentators. Drawing upon the full range of his prolific output, the articles here cover psychoanalysis, philosophy, and popular culture. These essays not only reflect the remarkable breadth and depth of Ž iž ek's interest in politics, culture, and philosophy, but also showcase his sometimes controversial, but always entertaining style. Over the course of the collection, a full and clear sense of Ž iž ekian philosophy emerges. At the same time, Ž iž ek's witty and accessible approach to his subject matter remains constant throughout, and his choice of exemplars from pop culture ensures that this is a consistently fresh and surprising body of work. Thematically organized, the book includes a new preface by Ž iž ek himself, as well as an introduction by the editors and a helpful glossary. This collection, along with the second volume--The Universal Exception--is an excellent introduction to the work of one of the most inspiring, provocative, and entertaining cultural critics at work today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the most innovative and exciting contemporary thinkers of the left."

About the Author

Slavoj Žižek is one of the world's leading contemporary cultural critics and a hugely prolific author. He is Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and Visiting Professor at the New School for Social Research, New York, USA. Rex Butler is Associate Professor in Art History at the University of Queensland, Australia. His previous publications include Jean Baudrillard: The Defence of the Real (Sage, 1999).

Scott Stephens is Researcher at the Centre for Theology and Politics, Brisbane, Australia.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group (July 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826471102
• ISBN-13: 978-0826471109
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,797,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"The most dangerous philosopher in the West," (says Adam Kirsch of The New Republic) Slavoj Zizek is a Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic. He is a professor at the European Graduate School, International Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, Birkbeck College, University of London, and a senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. His books include "First as Tragedy, Then as Farce;" "Iraq: The Borrowed Kettle;" "In Defense of Lost Causes;" "Living in the End Times;" and many more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High theory's prankster at his best, January 11, 2006

By 

William H. Payne "William H. Payne" (Chattanooga, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Interrogating the Real: Selected Writings (Hardcover)

I still have a few essays left in this little gem, but I would already highly recommend it because I have never had a better experience understanding Zizek.

First off, if you simply wish to gain a straight forward understanding of some of the possible theoretically usages of Lacan, Hegel, Kant, Foucault, Heidegger and a host of other heavy hitters then Zizek is your man. He loves a tangent, but he uses anecodotes, jokes and examples from popular culture to demonstrate difficult concepts in a clear way. (In my opion, that's what real genius is.)

Secondly, the essays are very witty, sometimes even hilarious. Whether Zizek is explaining that the Lacanian analyst is like Hannibal Lecter trying to eat Clarisse Starling's 'Dasein' or describing the perverse self-denials in Casablanca, he is always pretty snarky.

Lastly, I think Zizek, despite his penchant for silliness, does have a serious project. I think he wants people to use logic to transcend academic and psuedo-academic fads and to understand that human beings are miraculous and miraculously cracked. Zizek is miraculously cracked, that's for sure.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A critically important acquisition, February 2, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Interrogating the Real (Paperback)

The first collection in a series of essays by Slavoj Zizek, who is a Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Ljubljana, Slovena and Visiting Professor at the New School for Social Research, New York and one of the leading contemporary cultural critics of the 20th century. A critically important acquisition for academic library Philosophy collections and student reading lists, this first volume of Professor Zizek's work is divided into three principle sections: 'Lacanian Orientations'; 'Philosophy Traversed by Psychoanalysis'; and 'The Fantasy of Ideology'. Enhanced with a glossary, an index, and an 'Author's Afterword: Why Hegel is a Lacanian', "Interrogating The Real" showcases impeccable scholarship and clearly documents Professor Zizek as an original and insightful philosopher in his own right.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zizek Dictionary on Hegel, Lacan, and Freud, November 16, 2008

By 

Carib "theorygirl" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Interrogating the Real (Paperback)

This text is a GREAT dictionary on the Zizekian reading of Lacan, Hegel, and Freud. In general, the interpretation of difference and the theoretical understanding of racism, ethnocentrism, anti-semitism, etc. is necessary reading for any student of post-strucutralist thought as it applies to the social world.