World-renowned public
intellectual Professor Slavoj Zizek has published over 50 books (translated
into 20 languages) on topics ranging from philosophy and Freudian and Lacanian
psychoanalysis, to theology, film, opera and politics, including Lacan in
Hollywood and The Fragile Absolute. He was a candidate for, and nearly won, the
Presidency of his native Slovenia in the first democratic elections after the
break-up of Yugoslavia in 1990. Although courted by many universities in the
US, he resisted offers until the International Directorship of Birkbeck's
Centre came up. Believing that 'Political issues are too serious to be left
only to politicians', Zizek aims to promote the role of the public
intellectual, to be intellectually active and to address the larger public.