Polar Inertia

by Paul Virilio

Overview

Examining how the ‘here and now' of space, territory, the body, are being redefined by new technologies and how this undoes simplistic versions of the globalization thesis, Paul Virilio demonstrates how technology has made inertia the defining condition of modernity. An instantaneous present has replaced space and the sovereignty of territory; everything happens without the need to go anywhere. This book will be a key reference for students and scholars of the latest thinking in social theory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761958031
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	12/21/1999
Series:	Published in association with Theory, Culture & Society
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.23(d)

About the Author

Paul Virilio is President Ecoloe Speciale d'Architecture, and author of Open Sky (verao); Art of the Motor (BFI); War and Cinema (Verso), amongst others.

Table of Contents

Indirect Light
The Last Vehicle
Kinematic Optics
Environment Control
Polar Inertia

Editorial Reviews

'If you've ever felt like we're going nowhere fast, and you'd like to know why - preferably sometime before you die - read this book' - James Der Derian, Brown University and Univeristy of Massachusetts, Amherst

'One of the most Original thinkers of our time' - Lib[ac]eration

'Virilio explores the space-time continuum of new media with a relentless, sceptical gaze. This volume is essential reading for those who would follow his profound examination of the body's fate in the landscape of contemporary information machines' - Professor Mark Poster, University of California

From the Publisher