Paul Rabinow is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the author and editor of numerous books, including Designs for an Anthropology of the Contemporary, also published by Duke University Press, and, most recently, Modes of Uncertainty: Anthropological Cases.

Introduction. Form and Birkenau  1
1. Object: The Contemporary  15
2. Constellations: Writing and Imaging Strife  33
3. Assembling: Abet and Facilitate  65
4. Composition: Techn¿ and Pathos  95
5. Contemporary Consolations: Unconsoled  125
6. Restive Endings  141
Notes  147
Bibliography  159