Oliver Feltham is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

working in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He is known primarily for his English translations of

Alain Badiou Alain Badiou (; ; born 17 January 1937) is a French philosopher, formerly chair of Philosophy at the École normale supérieure (ENS) and founder of the faculty of Philosophy of the Université de Paris VIII with Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault ...

, most notably Badiou’s

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

''Being and Event'' (2006).Review of ''Alain Badiou: Live Theory''
reviewed by Todd May Feltham's own writings are drawn from many of his research interests including

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

critical theory Critical theory is a social, historical, and political school of thought and philosophical perspective which centers on analyzing and challenging systemic power relations in society, arguing that knowledge, truth, and social structures are ...

, and the history of

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

. His recent work has also focused on

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

and

Jacques Lacan Jacques Marie Émile Lacan (, ; ; 13 April 1901 – 9 September 1981) was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. Described as "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Sigmund Freud, Freud", Lacan gave The Seminars of Jacques Lacan, year ...

. Feltham received his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. In 2000, he completed his doctoral thesis at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, writing his dissertation on the

ontological Ontology is the philosophical study of being. It is traditionally understood as the subdiscipline of metaphysics focused on the most general features of reality. As one of the most fundamental concepts, being encompasses all of reality and every ...

distinction between

praxis Praxis may refer to: Philosophy and religion *Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised * Praxis model, a way of doing theology * Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...

and work in ancient and modern philosophy (with a focus on Badiou and

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...

) based on research Feltham conducted in Paris.Faculty Homepage
/ref> Feltham teaches at the

American University of Paris The American University of Paris (AUP) is a private university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe, and the first to be established in France. The university ...

(AUP) where he has been since 2004 and where he became a full-time

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in 2006, teaching in the

comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

and "Global Communications" departments and in the Philosophy Program. Feltham is also a researcher at the ''Circle for Lacanian Ideology Critique'' at the

Jan van Eyck Academie The Van Eyck – Multiform Institute for Fine Art, Design, and Reflection (formerly known as “Jan van Eyck Academie”) is a post-academic institute for research and production in the fields of fine art, design and art theory, based in Maastrich ...

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

Selected bibliography

;Translated books and articles *Alain Badiou: ** ''Infinite Thought: Truth and the Return to Philosophy'', transl. and ed. by Feltham &

Justin Clemens Justin Clemens (born 22 April 1969) is an Australian academic known for his work on Alain Badiou, psychoanalysis, European philosophy, and contemporary Australian art and literature. He is also a published poet. Background Clemens studied at ...

; (London: Continuum, 2003): (paperback); (hardcover) ** ''Being and Event'', London: Continuum, 2006. *

Jean-Claude Milner Jean-Claude Milner (; born 3 January 1941) is a linguist, philosopher and essayist. His specialist fields of endeavour are linguistics (which he studied with Roland Barthes) and psychoanalysis (through the teaching and friendship of Jacques Lacan) ...

, "The Doctrine on Science", ''Umbr(a)L Science and Truth Issue'' (Buffalo: 2000). ;Authored books *''As Fire Burns: Of Ontology, Praxis, and Functional Work'', Geelong, Deakin University PhD Thesis, 2000. *(ed. with Bruno Besana), ''Écrits autour de la pensée d'Alain Badiou'', Paris, Éditions L'Harmattan, 2007. *''Alain Badiou: Live Theory'', London: Continuum, 2008. . *''Anatomy of Failure: Philosophy and Political Action'', London, Bloomsbury, 2013.

References

External links

Faculty Homepage
at The American University of Paris
Make it New: Oliver Feltham's ''Badiou: Live Theory''
a useful review & response "blog-post" to Feltham's work {{DEFAULTSORT:Feltham, Oliver Living people Australian social philosophers French–English translators Marxist theorists 21st-century Australian philosophers University of Sydney alumni Deakin University alumni Australian non-fiction writers Australian translators Academic staff of the American University of Paris 21st-century translators Year of birth missing (living people)