Andrew Parker (External Editor) Andrew Parker is Professor of English at Amherst College.Austin Sarat (External Editor) Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. He is the author or co-editor of over seventy books and the recipient of numerous prizes and awards.Martha Merrill Umphrey (External Editor) Martha Merrill Umphrey is Professor of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought at Amherst College.

This volume examines the ongoing overlap between earlier liberal understandings of responsibility and the rise of new and biopolitical forms of responsibility in our time. Liberal discourses of responsibility no longer correspond to actual political practices (if they ever did) but such discourses live on nonetheless in ways that pervert, distort and enable contemporary practices. In this way, the language of individual responsibility has been mapped uneasily onto a practice based on torts, insurance and risk assessment. The contributions in this volume wonderfully illuminate this clash of values; they richly describe the consequences of such bifurcation and, in varying ways, ask us what contemporary practices are best suited for our times. They consider how best to navigate the complex overlay of discourses that constitute contemporary legal and ethical approaches to responsibility. This book will be invaluable to those scholars who write on responsibility and a delight to read for anyone interested in these questions.---—James Martel, San Francisco State University

Andrew Parker (External Editor) Andrew Parker is Professor of English at Amherst College.Austin Sarat (External Editor) Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. He is the author or co-editor of over seventy books and the recipient of numerous prizes and awards.Martha Merrill Umphrey (External Editor) Martha Merrill Umphrey is Professor of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought at Amherst College.

This volume examines the ongoing overlap between earlier liberal understandings of responsibility and the rise of new and biopolitical forms of responsibility in our time. Liberal discourses of responsibility no longer correspond to actual political practices (if they ever did) but such discourses live on nonetheless in ways that pervert, distort and enable contemporary practices. In this way, the language of individual responsibility has been mapped uneasily onto a practice based on torts, insurance and risk assessment. The contributions in this volume wonderfully illuminate this clash of values; they richly describe the consequences of such bifurcation and, in varying ways, ask us what contemporary practices are best suited for our times. They consider how best to navigate the complex overlay of discourses that constitute contemporary legal and ethical approaches to responsibility. This book will be invaluable to those scholars who write on responsibility and a delight to read for anyone interested in these questions.---—James Martel, San Francisco State University

Andrew Parker (External Editor) Andrew Parker is Professor of English at Amherst College.Austin Sarat (External Editor) Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. He is the author or co-editor of over seventy books and the recipient of numerous prizes and awards.Martha Merrill Umphrey (External Editor) Martha Merrill Umphrey is Professor of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought at Amherst College.

This volume examines the ongoing overlap between earlier liberal understandings of responsibility and the rise of new and biopolitical forms of responsibility in our time. Liberal discourses of responsibility no longer correspond to actual political practices (if they ever did) but such discourses live on nonetheless in ways that pervert, distort and enable contemporary practices. In this way, the language of individual responsibility has been mapped uneasily onto a practice based on torts, insurance and risk assessment. The contributions in this volume wonderfully illuminate this clash of values; they richly describe the consequences of such bifurcation and, in varying ways, ask us what contemporary practices are best suited for our times. They consider how best to navigate the complex overlay of discourses that constitute contemporary legal and ethical approaches to responsibility. This book will be invaluable to those scholars who write on responsibility and a delight to read for anyone interested in these questions.---—James Martel, San Francisco State University