306 College & Research Libraries May 2012

Alex Murray and Jessica Whyte. The 
Agamben Dictionary. Edinburgh: Edin-
burgh University Press, 2011. 219p. alk. 
paper, $40.00 (ISBN 9780748640584). 
LCCN 2011-431345.

Born in 1942, Giorgio Agamben is consid-
ered a leading figure in philosophy and 
political theory, one who is known for 
challenging the Western political tradition. 
After completing his studies in law and 
philosophy, and earning his doctorate, he 
taught at various universities in Europe 
and was a visiting professor at various 
universities in the United States. Agamben 
is no stranger to controversy. His entry to 
the United States was accompanied by a 
controversy upon his refusal to submit 
to fingerprinting as requested by the U.S. 
Immigration Department following the 
attacks on September 11, 2001. In no un-
certain terms, he stated his objection to this 
“biopolitical tattooing” in an article that ap-
peared in Le Monde: “I have no intention of 
submitting myself to such procedures and 
that’s why I didn’t wait to cancel the course 
I was supposed to teach at New York Uni-
versity in March” (Jan. 10, 2004). His radical 
critique continues to redefine and fashion 
concepts and terminologies in areas such 
as ethics, law, epistemology, language, and 
logic, among others. To this end, Murray 
and Whyte bring together a collection of 
essays written by renowned and emerging 
experts to illustrate Agamben’s influence in 
a broad spectrum of disciplines.

Murray and Whyte are no strangers 
to Agamben. Alex Murray began his ap-
pointment as English Literature Lecturer 
in 2007 at the University of Exeter’s English 
Department. He is extensively published 
in literary studies and critical theories and 
has written several monographs, articles, 
book chapters, and reviews. The Encyclope-
dia of Literary and Cultural Theory (Oxford, 
2011) recently published Murray’s entry 
on Agamben. In addition, he is coeditor 
of The Work of Giorgio Agamben: Law, Life, 
Literature (Edinburgh Press, 2008), an in-
depth treatment of the philosopher’s work. 
Later, in 2009, he wrote “Law and Thought: 
on the Work of Giorgio Agamben” (Law & 

Critique 20:3), and, in 2010, Murray sum-
marized his key ideas in Giorgio Agamben 
(Critical Thinkers Series, Routledge). 
Currently, Murray is cofounder of Parrhe-
sia: A Journal of Critical Philosophy (www.
parrhesiajournal.org). His collaborator, 
Jessica Whyte, is a lecturer in cultural and 
social analysis at the University of Western 
Sydney, Australia. She completed her doc-
torate on the political thought of Giorgio 
Agamben in 2010 and published widely 
on contemporary continental philosophy, 
including Foucault and Ranciere, and 
critical and legal theories. In addition to 
the reviewed publication, she coedited the 
Theory and Event Symposium “Form of 
Life: Giorgio Agamben, Ontology, Politics” 
(2010), as well as the Australian Feminist 
Law Journal special edition “Law, Crisis, 
Revolution” (2010). 

Until now, scholarly publications 
focused on the philosopher’s individual 
works. This is the first attempt to illus-
trate the complexity of his body of work 
as a whole. Carefully researched and as-
sembled, The Agamben Dictionary is a col-
lection of short essays that introduce key 
terms and concepts spanning the gambit 
from Abandonment to Zoē. Each essay 
includes cross-references to other terms, in 
bold type. The dictionary concludes with 
a comprehensive biography of Agam-
ben’s works to date, cited works, further 
readings, and notes on contributors. The 
dictionary is a valuable reference for 
researchers interested not only in Agam-
ben’s work but also in understanding his 
place in contemporary philosophy and 
political critique as overall disciplines.—
Ethan Pullman, Carnegie Mellon University.

Digital Media: Technological and Social 
Challenges of the Interactive World. 
Eds. Megan A. Winger and William 
Aspray. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow 
Press, 2011. 237p. alk. paper, $55 (ISBN 
9780810881969). LC2011-016306.

Compiled by scholars from industry and 
academia in fields ranging from the arts 
and humanities to information studies, 
Digital Media explores, from multiple