Carl Schmitt and The Buribunks: Technology, Law, Literature

A young Carl Schmitt published a satirical fiction entitled "The Buribunks" in 1918, which imagined a future society of beings who consistently wrote and disseminated their personal diaries. This volume includes the first full translation into English of "The Buribunks" and a selection of critical essays on the text, its meanings in the digital present, its playing with and criticism of the literary form, and its place within Schmitt's life and work. The essays provide a complex, critical, and provocative invitation to reimagine the relations between the human and their imprint and legacy within archives and repositories. It challenges a broad range of disciplines to reflect on the digital present and its assembled and curated beings and provides a set of fantastically located concepts, images, and histories that traverse ideas and practices, play and politics, power and possibility.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 364 pages
Publication date: 29 January 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

In 1918, a young Carl Schmitt released a satirical fiction titled "The Buribunks," envisioning a society of beings who relentlessly documented and shared their personal diaries. Schmitt, renowned for his philosophy of the exception and his role as the "Crown Jurist of the Third Reich," has largely faded from historical consciousness. However, in the digital age, where the emphasis lies on the informational traces left by human actions and the ongoing fascination with Schmitt's work to explain and critique contemporary power structures, "The Buribunks" emerges as a text whose time has come.

This comprehensive volume presents the first complete English translation of "The Buribunks" alongside a collection of critical essays that explore its meanings in the digital present, its playful manipulation of literary form, and its position within Schmitt's life and work. The Buribunks and the essays offer a multifaceted, critical, and thought-provoking invitation to reexamine the intricate relationships between humans and their imprint and legacy within archives and repositories.

At its core, this book delves into the profound exploration of what it means to be a being acutely aware of "writing itself." It challenges a wide range of disciplines, from philosophy to critical data studies, to reflect on the digital present and its assembled and curated beings. It provides a rich tapestry of concepts, images, and histories that traverse ideas, practices, play, politics, power, and possibility.

"The Buribunks" is not just a resource for critical lawyers, literary scholars, and Schmitt enthusiasts. It is a volume that beckons scholars to engage with a broad spectrum. It challenges disciplines to reflect on the digital present and its assembled and curated beings. It offers a set of fantastically located concepts, images, and histories that traverse ideas and practices, play and politics, power and possibility.

In conclusion, "The Buribunks" is a remarkable text that deserves to be rediscovered and reevaluated in the digital age. Its satirical portrayal of a society obsessed with self-memorialization offers a poignant commentary on the human condition in the age of information overload. By presenting the first complete English translation alongside critical essays that explore its various dimensions, this volume provides a valuable resource for scholars, researchers, and anyone interested in exploring the complexities of the digital present and its implications for our understanding of the human.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367548919