Christopher Watkin lectures French thought and culture at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He works in the area of contemporary French philosophy and his latest book, Difficult Atheism: Post-Theological Thinking in Alain Badiou, Jean-Luc Nancy and Quentin Meillassoux (Edinburgh University Press, 2011), considers the complex interface between religion and atheism in that field. He has also recently published From Plato to Postmodernism: The Story of Western Culture through Philosophy, Literature and Art (Bristol Classical Press, 2011). See www.christopherwatkin.com.