The Disorder of Things-A Foucauldian approach to the work of Nuruddin Farah (PB)J Masterson, (NEW)

The Disorder of Things - A Foucauldian approach to the workof Nuruddin Farah (PB)John Masterson,(OUT OF PRINT NEW)

Nuruddin Farah is widely regarded as one of the mostsophisticated voices in contemporary world literature. Michel Foucault isrevered as one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century, withhis discursive legacy providing inspiration for scholars working in a range ofinterdisciplinary fields. The Disorder of Things offers a reading of the Somalinovelist through the prism of the French philosopher. The book argues that thepreoccupations that have remained central throughout Farah's forty year career,including political autocracy, female infibulation, border conflicts,international aid and development, civil war, transnational migration and theHorn of Africa's place in a so-called 'axis of evil', can be mapped onto somekey concerns in Foucault's writing most notably Foucault's theoretical turnfrom 'disciplinary' to 'biopolitical' power. In both the colonial past and thepostcolonial present, Somalia is typically represented as an incubator ofdisorder: whether in relation to internecine conflict, international terrorismor contemporary piracy. Through his work, both fictional and non-fictional,Farah strives to present alternative stories to an expanding global readership.The Disorder of Things analyses the politics and poetics that underpin thisliterary project, beginning with Farah's first fictional cycle, Variations onthe Theme of an African Dictatorship (1979-1983), and ending with his PastImperfect trilogy (2004-2011). Farah's writing calls for a more refined,substantial reading of our current geo-political situation. As such, it bothwarrants and compels the kind of critical engagement foregrounded throughoutThe Disorder of Things. This book will appeal to students, academics andgeneral readers with an interest in the interdisciplinary study of literature.Its engagement with theorists, drawn from postcolonial, feminist anddevelopment studies, set against the backdrop of a host of philosophical andsociological discourses, shows how such intellectual cross-fertilisation canenliven a single-author study.