Political Philosophy

Starting March 25, 2026, I’m teaming up with Jakob Hanschu to co-teach a short course titled “Agamben’s Homo Sacer: Sovereignty, Bare Life, and Modern Political Power.” The course will involve a systematic working through of Giorgio Agamben’s Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life.” The course will start on March 25 and continue for four consecutive Wednesdays.

What is the paradox of sovereignty? How does the sovereign relate to the sacred? How do political exclusions undergird the political itself? 

This course will shed light on all of these questions and more though reading and discussing Giorgio Agamben’s Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. In the book, Agamben dissects the modern figure of the sovereign and draws out key concepts like “bare life” and the “state of exception.” Following Agamben’s lead, we will track the historical discourse of the sovereign from the Roman figure of homo sacer to medieval bandits and “wolf-men” to German concentration camps to the contemporary surveillance state.

Course Schedule

Note: All meetings take place at 7:00 PM CT.

• WEEK 1 – The Logic of Sovereignty
  • Homo Sacer, pp. 1-68
  WEEK 2 – Homo Sacer
  • Homo Sacer, pp. 69-116
  WEEK 3 – The Camp as Biopolitical Paradigm of the Modern (1)
  • Homo Sacer, pp. 117-159
  WEEK 4 – The Camp as Biopolitical Paradigm of the Modern (2) 
  • Homo Sacer, pp. 160-188

How to JoinJoin us either live or recorded for this great class by becoming a patron on the Maurin Academy’s Patreon! All patrons at the Worker-Scholar tier or above will receive access to the live course. The recording will be made available to patrons at the Salt of the Earth tier.