Sixty years ago, the political theorist Hannah Arendt, an exiled Jew deprived of her German citizenship, observed that before people can enjoy any of the "inalienable" Rights of Man-before there can be any specific rights to education, work, voting, and so on-there must first be such a thing as "the right to have rights". The concept received little attention at the time, but in our age of mass deportations, Muslim bans, refugee crises, and extra-state war, the phrase has become the centre of a crucial and lively debate. Here five leading thinkers from varied disciplines-including history, law, politics, and literary studies-discuss the critical basis of rights and the meaning of radical democratic politics today.

Five leading thinkers on the concept of "rights" in an era of rightlessness

About the Author
Stephanie DeGooyer is Assistant Professor of English at Willamette University and Visiting Assistant Professor of English at Harvard University.

Werner Hamacher is Emmanuel Levinas Chair of Philosophy at the European Graduate School. His books include Pleroma: Reading in Hegel, and Minima Philologica.

Alastair Hunt is Associate Professor of English at Portland State University.

Samuel Moyn is Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence and Professor of History at Yale University.

Lida Maxwell is Associate Professor of Politics at Boston University.

Astra Taylor is a writer, documentary filmmaker, and activist.

Reviews
Verso has published an elegant little book of essays by four academics who endeavored not only to unpack the phrase but also to find interpretations that can inform and inspire resistance to the current worldwide assault on human rights. -- Masha Gessen * The New Yorker *



Book Information
ISBN 9781784787554
Author Stephanie DeGooyer
Format Paperback
Page Count 160
Imprint Verso Books
Publisher Verso Books
Weight(grams) 138g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 10mm