PublicPlanetBooks AserieseditedbyDilipGaonkar,JaneKramer, BenjaminLee,andMichaelWarner Public Planet Books is a series designed by writers in and outside the academy—writers working on what could be callednarrativesofpublicculture—toexplorequestionsthat urgentlyconcernusall.Itisanattempttoopenthescholarly discourses on contemporary public culture, both local and international,andtoilluminatethatdiscoursewiththekinds of narrative that will challenge sophisticated readers, make them think, and especially make them question. It is, most importantly, an experiment in strategies of discourse,com- bining reportage and critical reflection on unfolding issues andevents—one,wehope,thatwillprovidearunningnarra- tiveofoursocietiesatthismoment.PublicPlanetBooksis partofthePublicWorkspublicationprojectoftheCenterfor TransculturalStudies,whichalsoincludesthejournalPublic CultureandthePublicWorldsbookseries. The Empire of Love p u b l i c p l a n e t b o o k s The Empire of Love Toward a Theory of Intimacy, Genealogy, and Carnality Elizabeth A. Povinelli DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS DurhamandLondon 2006 ©2006DukeUniversityPress Allrightsreserved PrintedintheUnitedStatesof Americaonacid-freepaper(cid:5) TypesetinBodonibyTseng InformationSystems,Inc. LibraryofCongressCataloging- in-PublicationDataappearon thelastprintedpageofthis book. ForStaceyMarieD’Erasmo Contents Acknowledgments xi EmpiresofLove:AnIntroduction 1 1 RottenWorlds 27 2 SpiritualFreedom,CulturalCopyright 95 3 TheIntimateEventandGenealogicalSociety 175 Notes 237 Bibliography 257