The State of Things, part of Norway's official representation in the 2011 Venice Biennale, addresses today's broad political and cultural climate through a series of lectures by some of today's foremost art historians, philosophers, sociologists, activists and political theorists. Essays written for this volume include Jacques Ranci re's "In What Time Do We Live?"; "Illegitimacy" by Leo Bersani; "Ten Lessons from Ten Peace Processes" by Jan Egeland; Fawaz A. Gerges' meditation on "How the Arab Uprisings Beat al Qaeda"; Vandana Shiva's "War Against the Earth"; Eyal Weizman on "Material Proportionality"; Judith Butler on "Bodily Vulnerability, Coalitions and Street Politics"; Franco Berardi on "Pasolini in Tottenham"; Saskia Sassen on "Urban Capabilities"; and T.J. Clark on "The Experience of Defeat."