Quick Facts
Biography
Geoffroy de Lagasnerie, born in 1981, is a French philosopher and sociologist.
He is the author of several books, articles and lectures pertaining to social and political philosophy, epistemology and critical theory, and the sociology of culture and intellectual life; with a particular interest in the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault.
Biography
Early life and education
Professional Life
After teaching at the Sorbonne and Science Po universities, Lagasnerie took up a position as a professor of philosophy and human sciences at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts in Cergy.
He is the director of the à venir collection published by Fayard.
Work
His work largely pertains to social and political philosophy, epistemology and critical theory, as well as the sociology of cultural and intellectual life. Additionally, Lagasnerie has been highly critical of the higher education system in France.
In 2015 he published The Art of the Revolt: Snowden, Assange, Manning. The book focused on the role of whistleblowers, particularly Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, and Chelsea Manning, in maintaining and strengthening democracy. The French weekly journal Les Inrocks named Lagasnerie as one of the most influential thinkers in contemporary French culture, and included the book in its list of the most influential essays of 2015.
In September 2015, Geoffroy de Lagasnerie published a Manifesto for an Intellectual and Political Counteroffensive alongside writer Edouard Louis. Featured on the front page of Le Monde, and later reprinted in English by the Los Angeles Review of Books, the letter denounced the legitimization of right-wing agendas in public discourse and offered terms for leftist intellectual reengagement in public debate.
In February 2016, Geoffroy de Lagasnerie published an article in openDemocracy entitled : "Beyond Powerlessness" which calls for the creation of new political practices.
In 2016, Lagasnerie published Juger. The book is a reflection on the criminal justice system, power and violence. It also encapsulates reflections on the methodology of sociology: in the last chapter, Lagasnerie argues that ethnography is an inherently "conservative" framework for understanding society. The French weekly journal Les Inrocks included the book in its list of the events of 2016.
Publications
Books
- L'empire de l'université. Sur Bourdieu, les intellectuels et le journalisme, Amsterdam, 2007
- Sur la science des œuvres. Questions à Pierre Bourdieu (et à quelques autres), Cartouche, 2011
- Logique de la création. Sur l'Université, la vie intellectuelle et les conditions de l'innovation, Fayard, 2011
- La dernière leçon de Michel Foucault. Sur le néolibéralisme, la théorie et la politique, Fayard, 2012
- Que signifie penser, in François Caillat (dir.), Foucault contre lui-même, PUF, 2014
- L'Art de la révolte. Snowden, Assange, Manning, Fayard, 2015.
- Juger. L’Etat pénal face à la sociologie, Fayard, 2016
- "Penser dans un monde mauvais", PUF, 2017
Volumes collectifs
- Exister socialement. Sur la sociologie et les théories de la reconnaissance in Pierre Bourdieu, l'insoumission en héritage. with Édouard Louis (dir.) Didier Eribon, Frédéric Lordon, Arlette Farge and Annie Ernaux. PUF, 2013.
- Que signifie Penser? in Foucault contre lui même, by François Caillat (dir.), Leo Bersani, Arlette Farge, George Didi-Huberman, PUF, 2014. Translation Foucault Against Himself, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2015.
Articles accessible online
- L'inconscient sociologique, Les Temps Modernes, 3/2009, no 654, p. 99-108, lire en ligne.
Notes & references
