Areas of Expertise/Research interests

• European philosophy
• political philosophy
• philosophy of movement
• history of philosophy

Current Research and projects

I am currently working on two series of books on the philosophy of movement. The first series is composed of six “core” books, each written with a similar organization on five major areas of philosophy: ontology, politics, aesthetics, science, and nature. The purpose of each book is to interpret its subject area from a  kinetic  or  process materialist  perspective.

The second series is composed of several books, each written on a major historical precursor to the philosophy motion.  This includes Lucretius, Karl Marx, and Virginia Woolf. Each book offers a kinetic interpretation and close reading of one of these figures as philosophers who made motion the foundation of their philosophy.

I am also working on an NEH funded transcription and translation project to publish the complete seminars of the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze's audio course lectures in collaboration with Purdue University and the Université de Paris VIII. For more information, visit our website, The Deleuze Seminars.

Professional biography

I am interested in developing a philosophy of movement. My work combines the insights of process philosophy and new materialism to develop a unique kinetic philosophy. My methodology is motivated by pressing contemporary concerns but also deeply rooted in historical and empirical research.  

Publications

Monographs.

• Theory of the Earth (Stanford University Press, 2021).
• Marx in Motion: A New Materialist Marxism  (Oxford University Press, 2020).
• Lucretius II: An Ethics of Motion (Edinburgh University Press, 2020).
• Theory of the Image (Oxford University Press, 2019).
• Being and Motion (Oxford University Press, 2018).
• Lucretius I: An Ontology of Motion  (Edinburgh University Press, 2018).
• Theory of the Border (Oxford University Press, 2016).
• The Figure of the Migrant (Stanford University Press, 2015).
  • Interviewed by Critical–Theory.com (2015)
  • Reviewed by Etienne RP on Amazon.com
  • Reviewed by SilentTrends.com
  • Review Roundtable in  PhænEx  11, no. 1 (2016): 141-162.
• Returning to Revolution: Deleuze, Guattari, and Zapatismo (Edinburgh University Press, 2012)
  • Reviewed by Nathan Jun in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (2013).
  • Reviewed by Nathan Widder in Foucault Studies 18 (2014)
  • Interviewed by Critical–Theory.com (2013)

Edited Books.

• Between Deleuze and Foucault (Edinburgh University Press, 2016)

Edited Journal Issues.

• Foucault and Deleuze Foucault Studies 17 (2014).

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles.

• Philosophy in the Time of COVID, Philosophy Today, Volume 64, Issue 4, Fall 2020.
• Borders, Migrants, and Writing, Konturen, Volume 11 (2020), 152-173.
• Christopher N. Gamble and Thomas Nail, Black Hole Materialism, Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge, No. 36 (2020). 
• Migrant Climate in the Kinocene, Mobilities, 14:3, (2019), 375-380.
• What is New Materialism?, with Chris Gamble and Josh Hanan, Angelaki: Journal of the Theoretical Humanities, 24:6 (2019), 111-134.
• Confini Mobili, Pólemos: Materiali di filosofia e critica sociale, Numero 2, 2018, dicembre, 161-173. Translated by Ernesto C. Sferrazza Papa.
• Three Theses on Neoliberal Migration and Social Reproduction, Polygraph—An International Journal of Culture and Politics Issue 27, 2019.
• Figures of the Migrant: Structure and Resistance, Cultural Dynamics Volume 30, Issue 3, August 2018.
• The Ontology of Motion, Qui Parle: Critical Humanities and Social Sciences, Volume 27, Issue 1, June 1, 2018, 47-76. 
  • Translated into Spanish as "La Ontología del movimiento," in El Malpensante, trans. Julián Martín Barrío.
• What is an Assemblage? SubStance, Volume 46, Number 1, 2017 (Issue 142), pp. 21-37.
• A Roundtable on The Figure of the Migrant , PhaenEx: Journal of Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture, 11, no. 1 (spring/summer 2016): 141-162.
• A Tale of Two Crises: Migration and Terrorism after the Paris Attacks, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, Vol 16, Issue 1, (April 2016): 158–167.
• Alain Badiou and the Sans-Papiers, Angelaki: Journal of the Theoretical Humanities, 20:4 (2015), 109-130.
• Migrant Cosmopolitanism, Public Affairs Quarterly, 29.2, (April 2015): 187–199.
• Zapatismo and the Global Origins of Occupy, Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory vol. 12 no. 3 (2013): 20–35.
• Deleuze, Occupy, and the Actuality of Revolution, Theory & Event 16.1 (2013).
  • Translated into Turkish as "Deleuze, işgal ve Devrimi'nin Güncelliği," in Gezinin Yeryüzü Kardeşleri , trans. Sinem Ozer, ed. Sinem Ozer (Istanbul: Otonom Publishing, 2014), 257-295.
• The Crossroads of Power: Michel Foucault and the U.S./Mexico Border Wall, Foucault Studies 15 (2012): 110–128.
• Violence at the Borders: Nomadic Solidarity and Non-Status Migrant Resistance, Radical Philosophy Review 14, no. 2 (2012): 241–257.
  • Translated into French as "Violence aux frontières," in Frontières, trans. Hélène Clemente (Paris: Éditions D-Fiction, 2016).
• Constructivism and the Future Anterior of Radical Politics, Anarchist Developments in Cultural Studies 1 (2010): 73–94.
  • Reviewed by Davina Cooper in Jotwell: Equality (2011).
• A Post-Neoliberal Ecopolitics? Deleuze, Guattari, and Zapatismo, Philosophy Today 54, no. 2 (2010): 179–190.
• Expression, Immanence, and Constructivism: 'Spinozism' and Deleuze and Guattari, Deleuze Studies 2, no. 2 (2008): 201–219.

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters.

• Kinaesthetics: From Assemblages to Fields of Circulation, in Machinic Assemblages of Desire: Deleuze and Artistic Research 3, edited by Paulo de Assis, Paolo Giudici (Leuven University Press, 2021), 179-196.
• The Migrant Image, in Handbook of Art and Global Migration, edited by Burcu Dogramaci and Birgit Mersmann (Des Gruyter Press, 2019), 54-69.
  
• Moving Borders, in Debating and Defining Borders: Theoretical and Philosophical Perspectives, edited by Soren Tinning and Anthony Cooper (New York: Routledge, 2019), 195-205.
• Migrant Images, in Moving Images: Mediating Migration as Crisis, edited by Krista Geneviève Lynes, Tyler Morgenstern, Ian Alan Paul (New York: Transcript Verlag), 2020, 147-164. 
• No Gods! No Masters!: From Ontological to Political Anarchism, in Deleuze and Anarchism, edited by Chantelle and Aragorn (Edinburgh University Press, 2019), 31-46.
• Kinopolitics: Borders in Motion, in Posthuman Ecologies : Complexity and Process After Deleuze, edited by Rosi Braidotti and Simone Bignall (Rowman and Littlefield International, 2018), 183-204.
• The Political Centrality of the Migrant, in Critical Perspectives on Migration in the 21st Century, edited by Marianna Karakoulaki, Laura Southgate, and Jakob Steiner (E-International Relations, 2018).
• Sanctuary, Solidarity, Status! , in For a Borderless World, edited by Reece Jones (University of Georgia Press, 2017), 23-33.
• Biopower and Control, in Between Deleuze and Foucault, edited by Daniel Smith, Nicolae Morar, and Thomas Nail (Edinburgh University Press, 2016).
• Sans-Papiers [Evraksizlar] Hareketinde Soylem ve Ideoloji, in Söylem ve Ideoloji: Mitoloji, Din ve Ideoloji (Istanbul: Su Yayinevi, Aug 2015).
• Revolution, in Keywords for Radicals, edited by Kelly Fritsch, Clare O'Connor, and A.K. Thompson (AK Press, 2016).
• Revolution and the Return of Metaphysics in Gilles Deleuze and Metaphysics (Lexington Books, 2013): 207–223.

Invited Articles.

• A Tale of Two (More) Crises: Migration and Bioterrorism during the Pandemic, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, 2021.
• What are the Migrant Arts?, The Large Glass: Journal of Contemporary Art, Culture, and Theory, vol 29/30, 2020: 5-9.
• An Ontology of Motion in a Moving World, Anthropocene Mobilities, 2019.
• Akis: Hareket Çagi (Flux: A Century in Motion) , Sabah Ülkesi Magazine, 2019.
• Flusso: il secolo del movimento - la kinopolitica di Thomas Nail (Flux: A Century in Motion - The Kinopolitics of Thomas Nail), KABUL Magazine, 2019.
• Guilty Before Trial: The Image of the Criminal Migrant, Oxford Border Criminologies, 2019.
• Lucretius and the Immanence of Motion, The Immanent Frame, 2017.
  
• Cosmopolis and the Right to the City, Mediapolis Volume 2, Issue 3, 2017.
  
• The Barbarism of the Migrant, Stanford University Press Blog, 2015.
  • Translated into Greek as "H βαρβαρότητα του μετανάστη," Karouzo: A Place for the Arts, 2015.
• Michel Foucault, Accelerationist, An und für sich, 2015. 
• Political Theory of the Mask, The Medes, 2013.
• Migrant Cosmopolitanism, e-International Relations, 2013.

Interviews.

• Time Will Tell: An Interview with Thomas Nail, with Chris Rawls, Blog of the American Philosophical Association, October, 2020.
• Kinetic Revolution: Understanding the Transversal Reality of the 'Philosophy of Movement',  Translated into Italian and published in  Visitors  (Italy, Kabul Press, 2020), 52-61.
• The Nature of the Digital Image: A Conversation with Thomas Nail, Core Concept Podcast, Nov 2019.
• The Nomadic Proletariat: An Interview with Alain Badiou, Philosophy Today 62.4 (Fall 2018).
  • Translated into Turkish as "Göçebe Proletarya: Alain Badiou ile Bir Söylesi" in Mulkiye Haber (Mulkiye News), trans. Aydin Ördek.
    
  • Translated into Farsi as " پرولتاریای کوچگر " in Shargh Daily, May 7, 2019, trans. Sahand Sattari.
• Kinopolitics and the Figure of the Migrant: An Interview with Thomas Nail, The Other Journal, No. 27, 2017.
• Ways of Doing Genealogy: Inquiry after Foucault, Foucault Blog, June 7, 2016.
• We're in the Century of the Migrant, Interview with Colorado Public Radio, Feb 6, 2016.
  
• The Figure of the Migrant: An Interview with Thomas Nail, Critical-Theory.com, 2015.
• Migration—Crisis or New Normal?: An Interview with Thomas Nail and Alison Mountz, The Accidental Geographer, 2015.
• On Migrant Politics: An Interview with Thomas Nail, Hostis: a Journal of Incivility, Issue 2, June 2015.
• Zapatismo 20 Anos Depois: Bate papo com Thomas Nail, A Internacionalista [The Internationalist], Dec 2013.
• On Deleuze and Zapatismo: An Interview with Thomas Nail at Critical-Theory.com, 2013.
• Building a Sanctuary City: No One is Illegal–Toronto on Non-Status Migrant Justice, Upping the Anti: A Journal of Theory and Action 11 (2010): 149–162.

Radio and Podcast Interviews.

• Politics of Movement with Thomas Nail, Undisciplined Podcast, interviewed by Nico Buitendag, April 2020.
• The Nature of Digital Image, Core Concept: Podcast, interviewed by Bartosz Gonczarek, November 2019.
• We're in the Century of the Migrant, Colorado Public Radio, interviewed by Nathan Heffel, February 2016.

Translations.

• Alain Badiou, The Nomadic Proletariat: an Interview with Alain Badiou, Philosophy Today 62, no. 4 (Fall 2018).
  
  • Translated into Turkish as "Göçebe Proletarya: Alain Badiou ile Bir Söylesi" in Mulkiye Haber (Mulkiye News), trans. Aydin Ördek.
  • Translated into Farsi as " پرولتاریای کوچگ"  in  Shargh Daily (May 07, 2019), trans. Sahand Sattari.
• Quentin Meillassoux, History and Event in Alain Badiou, Parrhesia: A Journal of Critical Philosophy 12 (2011): 1–11.

Transcriptions (ed).

• Gilles Deleuze, Lectures de Cours sur Michel Foucault 1985-1986, La Voix de Gilles Deleuze.

Book Reviews.

• The Politics of Borders: Sovereignty, Security and the Citizen after 9/11 (Cambridge University Press, 2017) Matthew Longo, in Contemporary Political Theory (2019). 
• The Speculative Turn: Continental Materialism and Realism (Re-Press, 2011) Levi Bryant, Nick Srnicek, and Graham Harman eds. Scapegoat: Architecture | Landscape | Political Economy 3 (2012): 40.
• Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari: Intersecting Lives (Columbia University Press, 2010) François Dosse, Foucault Studies 14 (2012): 218–222.
• Real Utopia: Participatory Society for the 21st Century (AK Press, 2008) Chris Spannos, ed. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism 20, no. 4 (December 2009): 112–114.
• Deleuze and Environmental Damage: Violence of the Text (Ashgate Publishing, 2006) Mark Halsey, Environmental Philosophy 3, no. 2 (2006): 64–66.

Popular Press.

• Most brain activity is 'background noise' — and that's upending our understanding of consciousness, Salon Magazine Feb. 20, 2021. 
• Why Making Our Brains Noisier Feels Good: A counterintuitive approach to improving our mental health, Nautilus Magazine, Feb 17, 2021.
• Why the Wall Won’t Work, Culturico, September 24, 2020
• Why a Roman Philosopher's Views on the Fear of Death Matter as Coronavirus Spreads, The Conversation, 3/12/20.
  • Translated into Portuguese as "O que este filósofo romano tem a dizer sovre o medo da morte" in  Gazeta do Povo , Brazil, trans. Rafael Salvi.
    
  • Expanded and republished as "3 Pandemic Predictions from Lucretius: How Being Afraid of Death is Making Some People Less Ethical," by The Institute of Art and Ideas, 3/30/2020. 
• The Earth is Dying, But Not Fast Enough, Counter Punch Magazine, 2/11/2020.
• The Climate-Migration-Industrial Complex, The New School Public Seminar, 1/10/2020.
• Is Nature Continuous or Discrete? How the Atomist Error was Born, Aeon: Ideas and Culture, 05/18/2018.
  • Translated into Spanish as " ¿La Naturaleza es Continua o Discreta? Cómó Nació el Error Atomista" in Arcadia, trans. Julián Martín Barrío.
• We Are Entering a New Epoch: The Century of the Migrant, Aeon: Ideas and Culture, 12/14/2016.
• The Hordes are Banging on the Gates of Europe? History News Network, 10/25/15. 
• The Politics of the Mask, The Huffington Post, 11/12/13.
• Child Refugees: The New Barbarians, Pacific Standard: The Science of Society, 8/19/14.  

Audiobooks.

• Marx  in Motion: A New Materialist Marxism  Audible.com (2020)
• Theory of the Image  Audible.com (2020)
• Being and Motion  Audible.com (2020)
• Theory of the Border  Audible.com (2018)
• The Figure of the Migrant  Audible.com (2017)