Professor Thomas Elsaesser Publishes 'European Cinema and Continental Philosophy: Film As Thought Experiment'

May 01, 2019

Visiting Professor Thomas Elsaesser recently published a new book titled European Cinema and Continental Philosophy: Film As Thought Experiment, through Bloomsbury Media.

The book focuses on the extent to which contemporary cinema contributes to political and philosophical thinking about the future of Europe's core Enlightenment values. In light of the challenges of globalization, multi-cultural communities and post-nation state democracy, the book interrogates the borders of ethics and politics and roots itself in debates about post-secular, post-Enlightenment philosophy.

In a review by Francesco Sticchi for Taylor & Francis Online, he said the book, “constitutes an interdisciplinary epistemological and philosophical map, a challenging and precious tool to register, draw and address the complex socio-political dynamics of our time with a critical and experimental spirit.”

book cover

Rosalind Galt, Professor of Film Studies, King's College London, said about the boo, “Not only a rich exploration of the relationship between film and philosophy, European Cinema and Continental Philosophy makes a timely claim on the stakes of thinking Europe today. Elsaesser provides a new and urgently needed framework for grappling with the contemporary conditions of European politics and film culture.”

Richard Rushton, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, Lancaster University, said “Elsaesser argues for a contemporary European cinema of openness and multiplicity, for a cinema that foregrounds autonomy and liberation. These arguments are backed up by an impressive account of contemporary European philosophy and its influences on cinematic thought. Elsaesser develops the key notions of a 'cinema of abjection' and 'post-heroic narratives' and, as a result, he charts an impressive map of European cinema and European politics to come.”

Professor Thomas Elsaesser is an international film historian and professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He is also the writer and director of The Sun Island, a documentary essay film about his grandfather, the renowned architect Martin Elsaesser. Since 2013 he has been a visiting Professor at The School of the Arts at Columbia University.