Judith Butler

Passions

Vocation

American philosopher and gender theorist, considered by many as "one of the most influential voices in contemporary political theory," and as the most widely read and influential gender theorist in the world. Her work has had a significant influence on the fields of feminist, queer, and literary theory, philosophy, political philosophy, and ethics. She is perhaps best known for her works Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990, 2007) and Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of "Sex" (1993, 2011), where she challenges the sex/gender distinction and develops her theory of gender performativity. Indeed, Butler's conception of gender performativity has shaped the scholarship of an entire generation in feminist and queer studies. Her other books include Subjects of Desire: Hegelian Reflections in Twentieth Century France (1987, 1999), Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative (1997), The Psychic Life of Power: Theories in Subjection (1997), Antigone’s Claim: Kinship Between Life and Death (2000), Undoing Gender (2004), Precarious Life: Powers of Violence and Mourning (2004), Giving an Account of Oneself (2005), Krieg und Affect (2009), Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? (2009). Her most recent monograph is Parting Ways: Jewishness and the Critique of Zionism (2012). All of her books have been translated into numerous languages; Gender Trouble, alone, has been translated into twenty-seven different languages. Butler has also been outspoken on many contemporary political issues. She has been active in lesbian and gay human rights, and, more recently, she has engaged with the question of Palestine/Israel. She is a vocal critic of Israeli politics and has repeatedly emphasized that Israel does not represent all Jews. Link to Wikipedia biography