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Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly . by Butler Judith . 2015. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press . $27.95.
Book Reviews: Political Theory
In Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly, Judith Butler revisits her early work on performativity and uses it to illuminate the politics of the street and the plaza. She urges us to think about the political effects that are produced when bodies--not just voices, discourses, or arguments--appear on the public stage. The main thesis of the book is that acting in concert can contest hierarchical distributions of power and the notions of liveability and normality that underpin them. The book, which is based on a series of lectures, links performativity with precarity. Butler focuses on the demonstrations, occupations, and vigils that expose the material body and highlight its need for shelter, food, care, and employment.
Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly is much more than a materialist version of liberal arguments in favor of the right to free speech and assembly. It is a nuanced discussion of a wide range of themes, including gender, precarity, public space, sociality, interdependence, justice, and the human. The book is extremely readable. It maintains the conversational style of the lecture format, which makes it an excellent introduction for students who are new to Butler's work. The focus on the politics of public space also offers new insights to her core audience.
How does the body "speak" politically? It does so in at least two ways. According to Butler, assembled bodies can have a "signifying effect." She notes that even when people stand silently, assembled bodies "say" we are not disposable. This dimension of assembly fits well with the conventional account of political activity, and the legal doctrine of free speech encompasses both speech and symbolic action that expresses dissent. While the courts recognize the expressive content of public assembly, protestors often emphasize the...