Rule of Experts - Egypt, Techno-politics, Modernity

Drawing upon two decades of fieldwork in Egypt, a political scientist and ethnographer offers a sweeping critique of social science theory, arguing that we need to move beyond postmoderism to examine the fundemental constructs of the social sciences: the nation, the economy, and violence.

List of contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Introduction

I. Economies of Truth
1. Can the Mosquito Speak?
2. Principles True in Every Country
3. The Character of Calculability
II. Peasant Studies
4. The Invention and Reinvention of the Peasant
5. Nobody Listens to a Poor Man
6. Heritage and Violence
III. Fixing the Economy
7. The Object of Development
8. The Market’s Place
9. Dreamland

Notes
Select Bibliography
Index

About the author

Timothy Mitchell, Professor, Department of Middle East and Asian Studies, Columbia University, is the author of Colonising Egypt (California, 1991, with a new preface), and editor of Questions of Modernity (2000).

Summary

Can one explain the power of global capitalism without attributing to capital a logic and coherence it does not have? Can one account for the powers of techno-science in terms that do not merely reproduce its own understanding of the world? This work examines these questions through a series of essays focused on Egypt in the 20th century.

Additional text

“The importance of this book goes well beyond the study of Egypt and the Middle East, making it a must read for everyone interested in the formations and effects of modern power.”

Product details

• Authors: Timothy Mitchell, Mitchell Timothy
• Publisher: University Of California Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 18.11.2002
• EAN: 9780520232624
• ISBN: 978-0-520-23262-4
• No. of pages: 429
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 228 mm x 23 mm
• Subjects: Education and learning > Teaching preparation > Vocational needs; Social sciences, law, business > Business > International economy; History, HISTORY / Middle East / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Middle East, Social and cultural anthropology, Middle Eastern history