Bad Education: Why Queer Theory Teaches Us Nothing

Lee Edelman's Bad Education argues that queerness is a figural name for the void around which the social order takes shape, designating the antagonism that prevents coherence. By translating queerness into "the queer," the order of meaning defends against the senselessness that undoes it, mirroring education's response to queerness. Edelman reads works by Shakespeare, Jacobs, Almodóvar, Lemmons, and Haneke to show why queer theory's engagement with queerness results in a bad education.

Format: Hardback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 03 February 2023
Publisher: Duke University Press

Lee Edelman's groundbreaking work, Bad Education, challenges the conventional understanding of queerness and reignites the debate within queer theory. In this thought-provoking book, Edelman proposes a queerness that exists beyond positive identity, envisioning it as a figural name for the void, an unnamable essence that shapes the social order. Similar to concepts such as Blackness, womanhood, incest, and sex, queerness signifies the antagonism, the structuring negativity, that hinders the coherence of the social order. However, when certain individuals are perceived as literalizing queerness, the negation of their negativity can appear to resolve social antagonism and create a unified community.

By translating the nothingness of queerness into the something of "the queer," Edelman seeks to defend the order of meaning against the senselessness that threatens to unravel it. This mirrors the educational response to queerness, where irony is sublimated into the meaningfulness of a world. Edelman engages with Lacan's concept of "ab-sens" and engages in dialogue with feminist and Afropessimist thought to explore the consequences of queer theory's engagement with queerness. Through a meticulous reading of works by Shakespeare, Jacobs, Almodóvar, Lemmons, and Haneke, among others, Edelman demonstrates why queer theory's approach to queerness ultimately leads to a bad education that fails to teach us anything substantial. Bad Education is a thought-provoking and provocative exploration of queerness, challenging readers to reevaluate their understanding of identity and society.

Weight: 748g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478015970