Deleuzian Encounters: Studies in Contemporary Social Issues

This deep dive examines an academic collection, "Deleuzian Encounters: Studies in Contemporary Social Issues," edited by Anna Hickey-Moody and Peta Malins, that explores how the philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari can be applied to diverse contemporary social issues. The book is divided into four parts: "Politics Beyond Identity," "Ethico-Aesthetics," "Socio-Spatiality," and "Global Schizophrenia." Each section presents essays that utilize Deleuzian concepts—such as "non-being," "becoming," "affect," "sensation," "smooth and striated space," "folds," "rhizome," "plateau," and the "body without organs"—to analyze topics ranging from intersexuality and intellectual disability to urban drug use, refugee experiences, and alter-globalization movements. The authors collectively aim to take Deleuze's philosophy out of purely academic circles and apply it to real-world social phenomena, often those that have emerged since Deleuze and Guattari's major works, demonstrating its pragmatic orientation and political ambitions for understanding and transforming society.