Introduction

This introduction traces back the conditions of emergence of the concept of bare life, from Foucault, though Agamben to more contemporary followers like De Boever and Lemke. It also takes pains to contextualise the emergence of the notion within the framework of the ethical turn in literature and theory and connects it with related items like dispossession, that have become influential thanks to the works of Judith Butler and Guillaume Le Blanc, among others. It then goes on to give a brief evocation of the articles published in the volume.