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Rome
The First Book of Foundations
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Rome
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This thought-provoking work will appeal to readers interested in history, philosophy, cultural studies, and those curious about the foundational myths that shape society. Ideal for academics, students, and intellectually curious readers seeking a dense yet poetic exploration of Rome and its broader significance.
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Description
Rome, Michel Serres' first book in his 'foundations trilogy', is all about beginnings. It explores the commencement of Rome itself, as well as the origins of society, knowledge, and culture. Rome is an examination of the very foundations upon which contemporary society has been built.
With characteristic breadth and lyricism, Serres leads the reader on a journey from a meditation on the roots of scientific knowledge to set theory and aesthetics. He explores the themes of violence, murder, sacrifice, and hospitality in order to urge us to avoid the repetitive violence of founding. Rome also offers an alternative and creative reading of Livy's Ab urbe condita, shedding light on the problems of history, repetition, and imitation.
First published in English in 1991, re-translated and introduced in this new edition, Michel Serres' Rome is a contemporary classic which reveals how we came to live the way we do.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Acclaimed by scholars such as David Webb and Claire Colebrook, this book is praised for its profound insight into the idea of foundation, blending myth, history, and philosophy. Reviewers highlight its lucid yet enigmatic style and regard this new translation as essential reading for humanities scholars, appreciating its deep engagement with themes of origins, inscription, and the multiplicity of time.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781472590152
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 19 November 2015
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Contributors:
- Translated by Randolph Burks
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 20.0mm
Width: 126.0mm
Height: 204.0mm
Weight: 380g
Pages: 256
About the Author
Michel Serres is a Professor in the History of Science at Stanford University and a member of the Académie Française. A renowned and popular philosopher, he is a prize-winning author of essays and books, such as The Five Senses, Genesis, and Biogea.
Randolph Burks is a philosopher specializing in phenomenology and philosophies of the body and nature. He has translated several works by Michel Serres, included Biogea, Variations on the Body and The Hermaphrodite (forthcoming).
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Despite being one of France’s most enduring and popular philosophers, Branches is the first English translation of what has been identified as Michel Serres’ key text on humanism. In attempting to reconcile humanity and nature, Serres examines how human history ‘branches’ off from its origin story. Using the metaphor of a branch springing from the stem and arguing that the...Paperback$5899Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Hominescence
According to Michel Serres, a process of 'hominescence' has taken place throughout human history. Hominescence can be described as a type of adolescence; humanity in a state of growing, a state of constant change, on the threshold of something unpredictable. We are destined never to be the same again, but what does the future hold? In this innovative and passionately...Paperback$6299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
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Following the narratives explored in Hominescence, Incandescent and The Bough, Michel Serres continues and concludes his 'grand story' of humanity and humanism. Humanistic Narratives weaves together and condenses the overriding philosophical narratives of the previous books and reflects upon Serres' own humanist theoretical system. With characteristic breadth and imagination, in telling the story of humanity, Serres also tells us why...Paperback$4999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
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Marginalised by the scientific age, the lessons of the senses have been overtaken by the dominance of language and the information revolution. With The Five Senses, Serres traces a topology of human perception. Writing against the Cartesian tradition and in praise of empiricism, he demonstrates repeatedly, and lyrically, the sterility of systems of knowledge divorced from bodily experience. The fragile...Paperback$5899Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
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The first translation of the volumes in Michel Serres’ classic Humanism tetralogy, this ambitious philosophical narrative explores what it means to be human. With his characteristic breadth of references, including art, poetry, science, philosophy, and literature, Serres paints a new picture of what it might mean to live meaningfully in contemporary society. He tells the story of humankind, from the...Paperback$6399Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
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