The Political Life of Sensation

“Davide Panagia has written a book that is rich of political sensations. Besides experimenting with senses and the political, it includes passages into political philosophy.... While he theorizes with the regimes of perception, he also challenges his readers to theorize the politics of aesthetics further on the basis of their own experiences.” - Kia Lindroos, Redescription

“Davide Panagia’s The Political Life of Sensation likewise raises the banner of sensation, in a gesture of defiance against the production of political knowledge organized by what he calls the ‘narratocracy’. In addition to contributing to the modest revival of sensation, his book succeeds at giving expression to the concrete political stakes of taking the concept seriously once again. It is both rich in style and often compelling.” - Tom Sparrow, International Journal of Philosophical Studies

“‘The first political act is also an aesthetic one.’ From this provocative postulate The Political Life of Sensation develops a refreshingly innovative theory of the image for which the force of sensation figures as a force for democracy. As interruptive as it is instaurational, both dissensual and convivial, the power of the image is brought by Davide Panagia to a new and original theoretical expression. The book weaves seamlessly between penetrating analyses of key political and philosophical thinkers and of cultural formations from the piazzas of Italy to the Thanksgiving table. A forceful and convincing apologia for an ‘ethics of appearance.’” - Brian Massumi, author of Parables for the Virtual: Movement, Affect, Sensation

“With this remarkable book, Davide Panagia chops off the head of political theory’s ruling narratocracy. The challenge he thereby raises is nothing less than a call for reconfiguring democracy as a realm of the senses.” - Jodi Dean, author of Democracy and Other Neoliberal Fantasies: Communicative Capitalism and Left Politics

“Davide Panagia develops a provocative contribution to democratic political theory. . . . His arguments are persuasive and refreshing. . . . [T]he work on the whole is rich and innovative.” - Parie Leung, Canadian Literature

“This smart and ambitious book contributes to a growing body of work in political theory that attempts to illuminate the connections among politics, culture, theory, and aesthetics, thereby broadening our understanding of the kinds of phenomena that count as political in contemporary multicultural politics. . . . [T]his is a very important book that offers valuable ways to better comprehend the imbrications of politics, culture, and aesthetics in contemporary multicultural democracy.” - Robert E. Watkins, Perspectives on Politics