ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with Enzensberger because his vision of the catastrophe in the mind conjures a constant presence reflecting the place of catastrophe on contemporary thought. The production of knowledge about disasters produces subjective responses to catastrophe as a phenomenon in itself. The chapter configures the broad reach of the concept to illustrate its capacity to entangle a vast range of political and social problematics. It attempts to conceptualize the political force involved in deploying catastrophe. The chapter on "catastrophic thought" engages writing beginning with catastrophe rather than governance to enrich the already robust discussion of governmentality by approaching the production of thought from a different vantage point. It concludes by insisting that the discussion necessitates a theory of political rationality befitting not only the vari.
