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The Cultural Politics of Contemporary Hollywood Film: Power, Culture and Society by
Adopting and developing a 'cultural politics' approach, this comprehensive study explores how Hollywood movies generate and reflect political myths about social and personal life that profoundly influence how we understand power relations. Instead of looking at genre, it employs three broad categories of film. 'Security' films present ideas concerning public order and disorder, citizen-state relations and the politics of fear. 'Relationalities' films highlight personal and intimate politics, bringing norms about identities, gender and sexuality into focus. In 'socially critical' films, particular issues and ideas are endowed with more overtly political significance. The book considers these categories as global political technologies implicated in hegemonic and 'soft power' relations whose reach is both deep and broad.
Class History and Class Practices in the Periphery of Capitalism by
Only after World War II did scholars move to theorize the distinction between the core countries at the center of capitalism and peripheral countries, often with an added distinction to include the semi-peripheral. Immanuel Wallerstein's World Systems approach has been particularly important and led the term periphery into common scholarly parlance. Not surprisingly, much work remains to be done to untangle the extreme diversity and complexity of the political economies and resistances against the multidimensional cruelties perpetrated in the world's many, very different peripheral contexts. Class History and Class Practices in the Periphery of Capitalismaddresses this need head-on. A first chapter lays a theoretical groundwork by showing that Marx, in his later life, became aware that historical developments are much more complicated than he originally conceived them to be, and he was not as far away from calling for site-specific analyses. Contributions here carry out just such analyses: they describe specificities for Russia, Portugal, Argentina, and Mexico, offer broader perspectives on post-hegemonic Latin America and Asia, provide detailed analyses of resistances across Africa, and reflect on the deeper meaning of neozapatismo for promoting a shift in the entire terrain of discussion. Rich in theoretical depth and empirical rigor, and supplemented by an out-of-the-archive translation of Karl Katusky's theory of crises, this book is essential reading for students and scholars of political economy and international political economy, and it is of keen interest to anyone working to resist specific capitalist exploitations in their own place and time.
Making Sense of Science and Religion : Strategies for the Classroom and Beyond by
The authors of Making Sense of Science and Religion believe that addressing interactions between science and religion is part of all science educators' collective job--and that this is the book that will help you facilitate discussion when the topic of religion comes up.Designed for teachers at all grade levels, the book will help you anticipate and respond to students' questions--and help students reconcile their religious beliefs even as you delve into topics such as evolution, geochronology, genetics, the origin of the universe, and climate change.The book is divided into three parts:1. Historical and cultural context, plus a framework for addressing science-religion issues in a legal, constitutional manner.2. Guidance on teaching specific scientific concepts at every grade level: elementary, middle, and high school science, as well as college and informal science settings.3. Advice for engaging families, administrators, school boards, legislators and policy makers, and faith communities.The book's authors are all personally and professionally invested in the subject. They are a mix of K-12 teachers, college professors, and experts from organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. They know that teaching about the interaction between science and religion is not easy.But they also know that educators have an ethical obligation to minimize the perceived conflict between science and religion. As the authors write, "When students hear a consistent message during science instruction--that they can learn science while maintaining their religious beliefs--they are much more willing to learn regardless of messages to the contrary that they might hear outside of your classroom."
Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy by
2020 American Book Award winner, Walter & Lillian Lowenfels Criticism Award Weatherford Award winner, nonfiction With hundreds of thousands of copies sold, a Ron Howard movie in the works, and the rise of its author as a media personality, J. D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis has defined Appalachia for much of the nation. What about Hillbilly Elegy accounts for this explosion of interest during this period of political turmoil? Why have its ideas raised so much controversy? And how can debates about the book catalyze new, more inclusive political agendas for the region's future? Appalachian Reckoning is a retort, at turns rigorous, critical, angry, and hopeful, to the long shadow Hillbilly Elegy has cast over the region and its imagining. But it also moves beyond Hillbilly Elegy to allow Appalachians from varied backgrounds to tell their own diverse and complex stories through an imaginative blend of scholarship, prose, poetry, and photography. The essays and creative work collected in Appalachian Reckoning provide a deeply personal portrait of a place that is at once culturally rich and economically distressed, unique and typically American. Complicating simplistic visions that associate the region almost exclusively with death and decay, Appalachian Reckoning makes clear Appalachia's intellectual vitality, spiritual richness, and progressive possibilities.
International Origins of Social and Political Theory by
This special issue is animated by the necessary entanglement of theory and history, the cortical relationship between theory and practice, and the transboundary (i.e. international) relations that help to constitute systems of thought and practice. We make three core arguments: first, all theory is situated knowledge, derived in and through history; second, theory-practice is a single field in which theory arises out of and acts upon historical experience; and third, both social and political theory have international origins -- theory is forged through ongoing encounters between 'here' and 'there', 'home' and 'abroad', and the 'domestic' and the 'foreign'.
The Practice of Political Theory by
Recent political thought has grappled with a crisis in philosophical foundations: how do we justify the explicit and implicit normative claims and assumptions that guide political decisions and social criticism? In The Practice of Political Theory, Clayton Chin presents a critical reconstruction of the work of Richard Rorty that intervenes in the current surge of methodological debates in political thought, arguing that Rorty provides us with unrecognized tools for resolving key foundational issues.
Exploring the Thought of Karl Polanyi by
The work of Karl Polanyi has become a central reference point for scholars working in a variety of traditions and disciplines within the social sciences, including international relations, international political economy, economic sociology, and economic anthropology. This book offers a comprehensive introduction to Polanyi's work by examining the key themes that run throughout his work: economy, commodification, money, the gold standard, geopolitical economy, the state, class, fascism, democracy, and knowledge.
Political Hypocrisy by
What kind of hypocrite should voters choose as their next leader? The question seems utterly cynical. But, as David Runciman suggests, it is actually much more cynical to pretend that politics can ever be completely sincere. Political Hypocrisy is a timely, and timeless, book on the problems of sincerity and truth in politics, and how we can deal with them without slipping into hypocrisy ourselves. Runciman draws on the work of some of the great truth-tellers in modern political thought--Hobbes, Mandeville, Jefferson, Bentham, Sidgwick, and Orwell--and applies his ideas to different kinds of hypocritical politicians from Oliver Cromwell to Hillary Clinton. He argues that we should accept hypocrisy as a fact of politics--the most dangerous form of political hypocrisy is to claim to have a politics without hypocrisy. Featuring a new foreword that takes the story up to Donald Trump, this book examines why, instead of vainly searching for authentic politicians, we should try to distinguish between harmless and harmful hypocrisies and worry only about the most damaging varieties.
Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Philosophy by
How modern philosophers use and perpetuate myths about prehistory The state of nature, the origin of property, the origin of government, the primordial nature of inequality and war - why do political philosophers talk so much about the Stone Age? And are they talking about a Stone Age that really happened, or is it just a convenient thought experiment to illustrate their points? Karl Widerquist and Grant S. McCall take a philosophical look at the origin of civilisation, examining political theories to show how claims about prehistory are used. Drawing on the best available evidence from archaeology and anthropology, they show that much of what we think we know about human origins comes from philosophers' imagination, not scientific investigation.
Judging Rights: Lockean Politics and the Limits of Consent by
Kirstie McClure offers a major reinterpretation of John Locke's thought that is important not only for the light it sheds on Locke, but also for the questions it raises about liberalism and rights-based theories of politics. Sensitive to the range of interpretative and political issues that Locke's work raises, McClure's analysis is impressive for its balance and subtlety, and for her command of the enormous literature on Locke. Between the Restoration and the Glorious Revolution, between Two Tracts on Government of 1660 and Two Treatises on Government of 1690, Locke subjected the idea of civil power to increasing scrutiny. In one generation, he moved from supporting order for its own sake to defending resistance, and ended with a profoundly modern epistemology. McClure suggests that Locke's concepts of government by consent, equality, rights, and the rule of law were embedded in his theistic cosmology. While Locke may well have been a constitutionalist, his theoretical concerns were far broader than any legal or constitutional interpretation of his work might suggest. To make this claim, she explains, is to deny neither the significance of "rights" nor the importance of institutions and consent in Locke's theoretical production. Rather, it is to insist that such themes are merely parts of a more comprehensive theoretical project, the focus of which, bluntly stated in the Second Treatise, was "to understand Political Power right."
The Cultural Politics of Contemporary Hollywood Film: Power, Culture and Society by
Adopting and developing a 'cultural politics' approach, this comprehensive study explores how Hollywood movies generate and reflect political myths about social and personal life that profoundly influence how we understand power relations. Instead of looking at genre, it employs three broad categories of film. 'Security' films present ideas concerning public order and disorder, citizen-state relations and the politics of fear. 'Relationalities' films highlight personal and intimate politics, bringing norms about identities, gender and sexuality into focus. In 'socially critical' films, particular issues and ideas are endowed with more overtly political significance. The book considers these categories as global political technologies implicated in hegemonic and 'soft power' relations whose reach is both deep and broad.
Gandhian Thought and Communication: Rethinking the Mahatma in the Media Age by
Gandhian Thought and Communication: Rethinking the Mahatma in the Media Age looks at Gandhian thought and contributions from an interdisciplinary communication perspective. It explores the Mahatma as a public intellectual and communicator. It studies Gandhi's unique communication techniques to connect with the masses and the way he used and appropriated myth, metaphors and symbols to communicate his ideas related to modernity and nationalism. The book examines how Gandhian ideas have been tested and the implications derived. This book also studies the contemporary relevance of Gandhian thought by looking at various popular media representations to open up the possibilities of rethinking and recasting Gandhi in the present context.
The Nature Essay: Ecocritical Explorations by
The Nature Essay: Ecocritical Explorations is the first extended study of a powerful literary form born out of the traditions of Enlightenment and Romanticism. It traces the varied stylistic paradigms of the 'nature essay' down to the present day. Reading essays as platforms for ecological discourse, the book analyses canonical and marginalised texts, mainly from German, English and American literature. Simone Schr der argues that the essay's environmental impact is rooted in its negotiation of scientific, poetic, spiritual, and ethical modes of perceiving nature. Together, the chapters on these four aspects form a historical panorama of the nature essay as a genre that continues to flourish in our time of ecological crisis. Authors discussed include: Alexander von Humboldt, Henry David Thoreau, Virginia Woolf, Robert Musil, Ernst J nger, W.G. Sebald, Kathleen Jamie, and David Foster Wallace.
Environment and Society in the Long Late Antiquity by
Environment and Society in the Long Late Antiquity brings together scientific, archaeological and historical evidence on the interplay of social change and environmental phenomena at the end of Antiquity and the dawn of the Middle Ages, covering the period ca. 300-800 AD. It gives a new impetus to the study of the environmental history of this crucial period of transition between two major epochs in premodern history. The volume contains both systematic overviews of the previous scholarship and available data, as well as a number of interdisciplinary case studies. It covers a wide range of topics, including the histories of landscape, climate, disease and earthquakes, all intertwined with social, cultural, economic and political developments. Contributors are Daniel Abel-Schaad, Francesca Alba-S nchez, Flavio Anselmetti, Jos Antonio L pez-S ez, Daniel Ariztegui, Brunhilda Brushulli, Yolanda Carri n Marco, Alexandra Chavarr a, Petra Dark, Carmen Fern ndez Ochoa, Martin Finn , Asuunta Florenzano, Ralph Fyfe, Didier Galop, Benjamin Graham, John Haldon, Kyle Harper, Richard Hodges, Adam Izdebski, Katarina Kouli, Inga Labuhn, Tamara Lewit, Anna Maria Mercuri, Alessia Masi, Lucas McMahon, Lee Mordechai, Mario Morell n, Timothy Newfield, Almudena Orejas Saco del Valle, Leonor Pe a-Chocarro, Sebasti n P rez-D az, Eleonora Regattieri, Stephen Rippon, Neil Roberts, Laura Sadori, Abigail Sargent, Gaia Sinopoli, Paolo Squatriti, Giovanni Stranieri, Raymond van Dam, Bernd Wagner, Mark Whittow, Penelope Wilson, Jessie Woodbridge.
Is This a Culture of Trauma? an Interdisciplinary Perspective by
This collection brings together case studies from the social sciences, such as clinical psychology and psychotherapy, as well as articles from the humanities that examine the aesthetics of trauma as represented in film, fiction, poetry, and the graphic novel.
A Violence and Emancipation in Colonial Ideology by
Using the insurrection by the Malayan Communist Party (1948-1960) as an example, this book argues that resorting to violence sped up the decolonisation of British Malaya by forcing its colonial administration to invent Malay nationalism and pursue ameliorative social policy among the Chinese diaspora community in a manner clearly derived from the Party's platform. Yet this was not the same as giving the country economic emancipation from the expectations of neo-colonial rule.Violence and Emancipation in Colonial Ideology entertains no warm colonial memories of the cold war years. Confirming Price's reputation as a plain-speaking critic of Empire apologia, this book asks how colonial ideology was considered to be beneath Europe, yet desperately needed by it. Using an Althusserian assumption, the book begs the question: if a late colonial state was subjective, then how did it claim a sufficiently objective mantle to rule and how did ideological techniques enable this?
Postcolonial Hauntologies: African Women's Discourses of the Female Body by
Postcolonial Hauntologies is an interdisciplinary and comparative analysis of critical, literary, visual, and performance texts by women from different parts of Africa. While contemporary critical thought and feminist theory have largely integrated the sexual female body into their disciplines, colonial representations of African women's sexuality "haunt" contemporary postcolonial African scholarship which--by maintaining a culture of avoidance about women's sexuality--generates a discursive conscription that ultimately holds the female body hostage. Ayo A. Coly employs the concept of "hauntology" and "ghostly matters" to formulate an explicative framework in which to examine postcolonial silences surrounding the African female body as well as a theoretical framework for discerning the elusive and cautious presences of female sexuality in the texts of African women. In illuminating the pervasive silence about the sexual female body in postcolonial African scholarship, Postcolonial Hauntologies challenges hostile responses to critical and artistic voices that suggest the African female body represents sacred ideological-discursive ground on which one treads carefully, if at all. Coly demonstrates how "ghosts" from the colonial past are countered by discursive engagements with explicit representations of women's sexuality and bodies that emphasize African women's power and autonomy.
From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend by
Newly updated: "An enjoyable introduction to American working-class history." --The American Prospect Praised for its "impressive even-handedness", From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend has set the standard for viewing American history through the prism of working people (Publishers Weekly, starred review). From indentured servants and slaves in seventeenth-century Chesapeake to high-tech workers in contemporary Silicon Valley, the book "[puts] a human face on the people, places, events, and social conditions that have shaped the evolution of organized labor", enlivened by illustrations from the celebrated comics journalist Joe Sacco (Library Journal). Now, the authors have added a wealth of fresh analysis of labor's role in American life, with new material on sex workers, disability issues, labor's relation to the global justice movement and the immigrants' rights movement, the 2005 split in the AFL-CIO and the movement civil wars that followed, and the crucial emergence of worker centers and their relationships to unions. With two entirely new chapters--one on global developments such as offshoring and a second on the 2016 election and unions' relationships to Trump--this is an "extraordinarily fine addition to U.S. history [that] could become an evergreen . . . comparable to Howard Zinn's award-winning A People's History of the United States" (Publishers Weekly). "A marvelously informed, carefully crafted, far-ranging history of working people." --Noam Chomsky
Inside Congress by
Required reading for anyone who wants to understand how to work within Congress. The House and Senate have unique rules and procedures to determine how legislation moves from a policy idea to law. Evolved over the last 200 years, the rules of both chambers are designed to act as the engine for that process. Each legislative body has its own leadership positions to oversee this legislative process. To the novice, whether a newly elected representative, a lawmaker's staff on her first day at work, or a constituent visiting Washington, the entire process can seem incomprehensible. What is an open rule for a House Appropriations bill and how does it affect consideration? Why are unanimous consent agreements needed in the Senate? The authors of Inside Congress, all congressional veterans, have written the definitive guide to how Congress really works.
Is Congress Broken? by
Making Congress Work, Again, Within the Constitutional System Congress for many years has ranked low in public esteem--joining journalists, bankers, and union leaders at the bottom of polls. And in recent years there's been good reason for the public disregard, with the rise of hyper-partisanship and the increasing inability of Congress to carry out its required duties, such as passing spending bills on time and conducting responsible oversight of the executive branch. Congress seems so dysfunctional that many observers have all but thrown up their hands in despair, suggesting that an apparently broken U.S. political system might need to be replaced. Now, some of the country's foremost experts on Congress are reminding us that tough hyper-partisan conflict always has been a hallmark of the constitutional system.
Exceptions to the Rule by
Special rules enable the Senate to act despite the filibuster. Sometimes. Most people believe that, in today's partisan environment, the filibuster prevents the Senate from acting on all but the least controversial matters. But this is not exactly correct. In fact, the Senate since the 1970s has created a series of special rules--described by Molly Reynolds as "majoritarian exceptions"--that limit debate on a wide range of measures on the Senate floor. The details of these exemptions might sound arcane and technical, but in practice, they have enabled the Senate to act even when it otherwise seemed paralyzed.
Common Sense and Other Works by
Known as the Father of the American Revolution, English-American author Thomas Paine became famous for two pamphlets that inspired the colonists to fight for their independence. Common Sense, published in 1776, fostered the idea that the colonists could separate from the tyrannical rule of the British monarchy, and The American Crisis, published that same year, encouraged soldiers to fight against the British Army. Paine's later writings included The Rights of Man (1791), a series of articles defending the French Revolution and asserting that people should rise up if governments failed to protect their natural rights. His final text, The Age of Reason (1794-1796), challenged institutionalized religion and critiqued Christian theology, advocating instead for reason and scientific inquiry. This collection features unabridged editions of all four of the American revolutionary's main pamphlets and writings.
The Almanac of American Politics - 2016 by
The 2016 Almanac remains the gold standard of accessible political information, relied on by everyone involved, invested or interested in American politics. Highly regarded for its in-depth analysis and comprehensive profiles of every congressional district, state, governor and member of Congress, The Almanac is the tool you need to better understand the context of the people and perspectives shaping the issues that matter to you.
Pork Barrel Politics by
Andrew Sidman offers a systematic explanation for how political polarization affects the electoral influence of district-level federal spending. Pork Barrel Politics is an empirically rich account of the surprising repercussions of bringing pork home, with important consequences in our polarized era.
Out of the Running by
An inside look into why Millennials are rejecting careers in politics, and what this means for the future of America's political system Millennials are often publically criticized for being apathetic about the American political process and their lack of interest in political careers. But what do millennials themselves have to say about the prospect of holding political office? Are they as uninterested in political issues and the future of the American political system as the media suggests? Out of the Running goes directly to the source and draws from extensive research, including over 50 interviews, with graduate students in elite institutions that have historically been a direct link for their graduates into state or federal elected office.
Policy Drift: Shared Powers and the Making of U. S. Law and Policy by
The role of formal and informal institutional forces in changing three areas of U.S. public policy: privacy rights, civil rights and climate policy There is no finality to the public policy process. Although it's often assumed that once a law is enacted it is implemented faithfully, even policies believed to be stable can change or drift in unexpected directions. The Fourth Amendment, for example, guarantees Americans' privacy rights, but the 9/11 terrorist attacks set off one of the worst cases of government-sponsored espionage. Policy changes instituted by the National Security Agency led to widespread warrantless surveillance, a drift in public policy that led to lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of wiretapping the American people. Much of the research in recent decades ignores the impact of large-scale, slow-moving, secular forces in political, social, and economic environments on public policy. In Policy Drift, Norma Riccucci sheds light on how institutional forces collectively contributed to major change in three key areas of U.S. policy (privacy rights, civil rights, and climate policy) without any new policy explicitly being written. Formal levers of change--U.S. Supreme Court decisions; inaction by Congress; Presidential executive orders--stimulated by social, political or economic forces, organized permutations which ultimately shaped and defined contemporary public policy. Invariably, implementations of new policies are embedded within a political landscape. Political actors, motivated by social and economic factors, may explicitly employ strategies to shift the direction of existing public polices or derail them altogether. Some segments of the population will benefit from this process, while others will not; thus, "policy drifts" carry significant consequences for social and economic change. A comprehensive account of inadvertent changes to privacy rights, civil rights, and climate policy, Policy Drift demonstrates how unanticipated levers of change can modify the status quo in public policy.
How America’s Political Parties Change (and How They Don’t) by
The election of 2016 prompted journalists and political scientists to write obituaries for the Republican Party—or prophecies of a new dominance. But it was all rather familiar. Whenever one of our two great parties has a setback, we've heard: “This is the end of the Democratic Party,” or, “The Republican Party is going out of existence.” Yet both survive, and thrive. We have the oldest and third oldest political parties in the world—the Democratic Party founded in 1832 to reelect Andrew Jackson, the Republican Party founded in 1854 to oppose slavery in the territories. They are older than almost every American business, most American colleges, and many American churches. Both have seemed to face extinction in the past, and have rebounded to be competitive again. How have they managed it? Michael Barone, longtime co-author of The Almanac of American Politics, brings a deep understanding of our electoral history to the question and finds a compelling answer. He illuminates how both parties have adapted, swiftly or haltingly, to shifting opinion and emerging issues, to economic change and cultural currents, to demographic flux. At the same time, each has maintained a constant character. The Republican Party appeals to “typical Americans” as understood at a given time, and the Democratic Party represents a coalition of “out-groups.”
Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right: American Life in Columns by
Opinionated talk show host and columnist Michael Smerconish has been chronicling local, state, and national events for the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer for more than 15 years. He has sounded off on topics as diverse as the hunt for Osama bin Laden and what the color of your Christmas lights says about you. In this collection of 100 of his most memorable columns, Smerconish reflects on American political life with his characteristic feistiness. A new Afterword for each column provides updates on both facts and feelings, indicating how the author has evolved over the years, moving from a reliable Republican voter to a political Independent. Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right covers the post-9/11 years, Barack Obama's ascension, and the rise of Donald Trump. Smerconish describes meeting Ronald Reagan, having dinner with Fidel Castro, barbequing with the band YES in his backyard, spending the same night with Pete Rose and Ted Nugent, drinking champagne from the Stanley Cup, and conducting Bill Cosby's only pretrial interview. He also writes about local Philadelphia culture, from Sid Mark to the Rizzo statue. Smerconish's outlook as expressed in these impassioned opinion pieces goes beyond "liberal" or "conservative." His thought process continues to evolve and change, and as it does, he aims to provoke readers to do the same. All author proceeds benefit the Children's Crisis Treatment Center, a Philadelphia- based, private, nonprofit agency that provides behavioral health services to children and their families.
The Reunited States of America How We Can Bridge the Partisan Divide by
Out of Many, One In this era of poisonous partisanship, The Reunited States of America is a lifesaving antidote. At a time when loyalty to party seems to be overpowering love of country, it not only explains how we can bridge the partisan divide but also tells the untold story of how our fellow citizens already are doing it. This book, a manifesto for a movement to reunite America, will help us put a stop to the seemingly endless Left-Right fistfight while honoring the vital role of healthy political debate. Mark Gerzon describes how citizens all over the country-Republicans, Democrats, and independents-are finding common ground on some of the most divisive and difficult issues we face today.
Games, Power and Democracies by
This volume discusses the promises and the challenges behind the use of gamification in public governance, both at the national and supranational levels. The first section reviews the landscape of gamification—taking a brief look at its history, providing definitions and examples of its application within the private and public sectors (at the national level), and introducing the readers to a number of problems linked with the use of gamification. The second part shifts the focus from the descriptive to the problematic analysis of gamification in governance. The third section ventures beyond the empirical analysis to address the impact of gamification strategies on participatory democracy in the national and supranational legal spaces.
Raised to Rage by
An argument that voter anger and authoritarian political attitudes can be traced to the displacement of anger, fear, and helplessness. Politicians routinely amplify and misdirect voters' anger and resentment to win their support. Opportunistic candidates encourage supporters to direct their anger toward Mexicans, Muslims, women, protestors, and others, rather than the true socioeconomic causes of their discontent. This book offers a compelling and novel explanation for political anger and the roots of authoritarian political attitudes. In Raised to Rage, Michael Milburn and Sheree Conrad connect vociferous opposition to immigrants, welfare, and abortion to the displacement of anger, fear, and helplessness. These emotions may be triggered by real economic and social instability, but Milburn and Conrad's research shows that the original source is in childhood brutalization or some other emotional trauma. Their research also shows that frequent experiences of physical punishment in childhood increase support in adulthood for punitive public policies, distorting the political process. Originally published in 1996, reprinted now with a new introduction by the authors that updates the empirical evidence and connects it to the current political situation, this book offers a timely consideration of a paradox in American politics: why voters are convinced by campaign rhetoric, exaggeration, and scapegoating to vote against their own interests.
Militant Democracy and Its Critics: Populism, Parties, Extremism by
Militant Democracy refers to the defensive policies democracies use to respond to antidemocratic movements. Can defensive efforts that curtail rights of participation be consistent with democratic values? In this collection of essays, scholars from across politics, philosophy and law address the unresolved practical and theoretical questions concerning democracy and extremism. The collection provides an update to a key contemporary debate in democratic theory and asks us to reconsider the potential promise and costs of militant democracy.
Confrontational Citizenship: Reflections on Hatred, Rage, Revolution, and Revolt by
Defends confrontational modes of citizenship as a means to reinvigorate democratic participation and regime accountability.
Antifa and the Radical Left by
Antifa has received public attention since the election of President Trump. To some, this was believed to represent the rise of white supremacy and authoritarianism in the United States, which Antifa made it a point to combat at any cost. What exactly is the Antifa movement? Are its militant, sometimes violent attempts to combat fascism justified, or are they just as morally reprehensible as what they are reacting against? This volume looks at Antifa's place in American and international history, as well as its organization, goals, and ethical implications, offering a clearer look at this enigmatic movement.
Reclaiming the State: A Progressive Vision of Sovereignty for a Post-Neoliberal World by
The crisis of the neoliberal order has resuscitated a political idea widely believed to be consigned to the dustbin of history. Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, and the neo-nationalist, anti-globalisation and anti-establishment backlash engulfing the West all involve a yearning for a relic of the past: national sovereignty.In response to these challenging times, economist William Mitchell and political theorist Thomas Fazi reconceptualise the nation state as a vehicle for progressive change. They show how despite the ravages of neoliberalism, the state still contains resources for democratic control of a nation's economy and finances. The populist turn provides an opening to develop an ambitious but feasible left political strategy.Reclaiming the State offers an urgent, provocative and prescient political analysis of our current predicament, and lays out a comprehensive strategy for revitalising progressive economics in the 21st century.
Political Uses of Utopia: New Marxist, Anarchist, and Radical Democratic Perspectives by
Utopia has long been banished from political theory, framed as an impossible?and possibly dangerous?political ideal, a flawed social blueprint, or a thought experiment without any practical import. Even the "realistic utopias" of liberal theory strike many as wishful thinking. Can politics think utopia otherwise? Can utopian thinking contribute to the renewal of politics? In Political Uses of Utopia, an international cast of leading and emerging theorists agree that the uses of utopia for politics are multiple and nuanced and lie somewhere between?or, better yet, beyond?the mainstream caution against it and the conviction that another, better world ought to be possible. Representing a range of perspectives on the grand tradition of Western utopianism, which extends back half a millennium and perhaps as far as Plato, these essays are united in their interest in the relevance of utopianism to specific historical and contemporary political contexts. Featuring contributions from Miguel Abensour, ??tienne Balibar, Raymond Geuss, and Jacques Ranci??re, among others, Political Uses of Utopia reopens the question of whether and how utopianism can inform political thinking and action today.
Looking Back at Law's Century by
This book describes a century of tremendous legal change, of inspiring legal developments, and profound failures. The twentieth century took the United States from the Progressive Era's optimism about law and social engineering to current concerns about a hyperlegalistic society, from philosophical idealism to the implementation of democracy, the rule of law, and the idea of human rights throughout the world. At the same time, law maintained its status as the key language of governance in the United States, the most "legal" of all countries, which has succeeded in making its version of the state a point of reference around the globe.
Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care? by
Some observers see American academia as a bastion of leftist groupthink that indoctrinates students and silences conservative voices. Others see a protected enclave that naturally produces free-thinking, progressive intellectuals. Both views are self-serving, says Neil Gross, but neither is correct. Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care? explains how academic liberalism became a self-reproducing phenomenon, and why Americans on both the left and right should take notice. Academia employs a higher percentage of liberals than nearly any other profession. But the usual explanations-hiring bias against conservatives, correlations of liberal ideology with high intelligence-do not hold up to scrutiny. Drawing on a range of original research, statistics, and interviews, Gross argues that "political typing" plays an overlooked role in shaping academic liberalism. For historical reasons, the professoriate developed a reputation for liberal politics early in the twentieth century. As this perception spread, it exerted a self-selecting influence on bright young liberals, while deterring equally promising conservatives. Most professors' political views were formed well before they stepped behind the lectern for the first time. Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care? shows how studying the political sympathies of professors and their critics can shed light not only on academic life but also on American politics, where the modern conservative movement was built in no small part around opposition to the "liberal elite" in higher education. This divide between academic liberals and nonacademic conservatives makes accord on issues as diverse as climate change, immigration, and foreign policy more difficult.
The Liberal Consensus Reconsidered : American Politics and Society in the Postwar Era by
When first published in 1976, Godfrey Hodgson?s America in Our Time won immediate recognition as a major interpretive study of the postwar era. Although the term liberal consensus, or its approximation, had received some previous expression, Hodgson was responsible for its entry into the lexicon of American history. Yet what he considered a substantive phenomenon would inevitably become a controversial paradigm as a massive outpouring of literature cited evidence of a significant conservative presence at the grassroots level from the 1930s to the 1960s.Here, leading scholars?including Hodgson himself?confront the longstanding theory that a liberal consensus shaped the United States after World War II. The essays draw on fresh research to examine how the consensus related to key policy areas, how it was viewed by different factions and groups, what its limitations were, and why it fell apart in the late 1960s. They find that although elite politicians from both parties did share certain principles that gave direction to postwar America, the nation still experienced major political, cultural, and ideological conflict.Identifying the forces at work that gave rise to a newly confident conservatism promoted by corporate leaders, Sunbelt boosters, and religious activists, the contributors offer new insights into the era and diverging opinions on one of the most influential interpretations of mid-twentieth-century U.S. history.
Moderates: The Vital Center of American Politics, From the Founding to Today by
The fierce polarization of contemporary politics has encouraged Americans to read back into their nation's past a perpetual ideological struggle between liberals and conservatives. However, in this timely book, David S. Brown advances an original interpretation that stresses the critical role of moderate statesmen, ideas, and alliances in making our political system work. Beginning with John Adams and including such key figures as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and Bill Clinton, Brown charts the vital if uneven progress of centrism through the centuries. Moderate opposition to both New England and southern secessionists during the early republic and later resistance to industrial oligarchy and the modern Sunbelt right are part of this persuasion's far-reaching legacy. Time and again moderates, operating under a broad canopy of coalitions, have come together to reshape the nation's electoral landscape. Today's bitter partisanship encourages us to deny that such a moderate tradition is part of our historical development--one dating back to the Constitutional Convention. Brown offers a less polemical and far more compelling assessment of our politics.
The Swing Voter in American Politics by
The "swing voter" occupies a cherished place in American political lore. Candidates court swing voters, consultants target them, and pundits speculate constantly on which way they will lean. But nobody has adequately defined them as a group. What exactly is a swing voter? No one really seems to know. T he Swing Voter in American Politics fills this conceptual gap. The book brings political scientists and pollsters together to answer four basic questions: What is a swing voter? How can analysts use survey data to identify swing voters? How do swing voters differ--if at all--from the rest of the electorate? And what role do swing voters play in determining the outcomes of contemporary elections? Drawing on a wide range of sources, including American National Election Studies Data, Gallup polls, Pew Center surveys, and the National Annenberg Election Survey, the contributors track swing voters across six decades and in national and local elections. The result is an unprecedented picture of this key political group, just in time for the 2008 campaigns. Contributors include James E. Campbell (University of Buffalo), April Clark (Pew Research Center for the People & the Press), Adam Clymer (Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania), Michael Dimock (Pew Research Center for the People & the Press), Juliana Menasce Horowitz (Pew Research Center for the People & the Press), Jeffrey M. Jones (Gallup Organization), Daron R. Shaw (University of Texas-Austin), Jeffrey M. Stonecash (Syracuse University), Ken Winneg (Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania).
Our American Story : The Search for a Shared National Narrative by
Over the past few decades, the complicated divides of geography, class, religion, and race created deep fractures in the United States, each side fighting to advance its own mythology and political interests. We lack a central story, a common ground we can celebrate and enrich with deeper meaning. Unable to agree on first principles, we cannot agree on what it means to be American. As we dismantle or disregard symbols and themes that previously united us, can we replace them with stories and rites that unite our tribes and maintain meaning in our American identity? Against this backdrop, Our American Story features leading thinkers from across the political spectrum--Jim Banks, Pulitzer Prize-winner David W. Blight, Spencer P. Boyer, Eleanor Clift, John C. Danforth, Cody Delistraty, Richard A. Epstein, Nikolas Gvosdev, Cherie Harder, Jason Kuznicki, Gerard N. Magliocca, Markos Moulitsas, Ilya Somin, Cass R. Sunstein, Alan Taylor, James V. Wertsch, Gordon S. Wood, and Ali Wyne. Each draws on expertise within their respective fields of history, law, politics, and public policy to contribute a unique perspective about the American story. This collection explores whether a unifying story can be achieved and, if so, what that story could be.
Centrist Rhetoric by
What exactly is happening when politicians evoke a center space beyond partisan politics to advance what are unmistakably political arguments? Drawing from an analysis of pivotal speeches surrounding Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and first term in office, Centrist Rhetoric: The Production of Political Transcendence in the Clinton Presidency takes an extended look at this question by showing how the possibility of political transcendence takes form in the rhetoric of the political center. Faced with a divided and shrinking party, and later with a pitched battle against a resurgent conservative movement, Clinton used the image of a political center, a "third way" beyond liberal and conservative orthodoxies, to advance his strategic goals, define his adversaries, and overcome key political challenges. As appeals to the center helped Clinton to achieve these advantages in specific cases, however, they also served to define the means, ends, and very essence of democracy in ambiguous and contradictory ways. Touching on controversies from the early 1990s over the future of the Democratic Party, racial identity in American politics, the threat of rightwing extremism, and the role of government, Antonio de Velasco show how centrist rhetoric's call to transcendence weaved together forms of identification and division, insight and blindness, so as to defy the conventional assessments of both Clinton's supporters and his detractors. Centrist Rhetoric thus offers general insight into the workings of political rhetoric, and a specific appreciation of Clinton's attempts to define and adjust to the political exigencies of a critical period in history of the Democratic Party and politics in the United States.
Grand Old Party: A History of the Republicans by
From Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War through the disputed election of George W. Bush and beyond, the Republican Party has been at the dramatic center of American politics for 150 years. In Grand Old Party, the first comprehensive history of the Republicans in 40 years, Lewis L. Gould traces the evolution of the Grand Old Party from its emergence as an antislavery coalition in the 1850s to its current role as the champion of political and social conservatism. Here, Gould brings to life the major figures of Republican history - Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush-and uncovers a wealth of fascinating anecdotes about Republicans, from "the Plumed Knight," James G. Blaine, in the 1880s, to Barry Goldwater in the 1960s, to Newt Gingrich in the 1990s. Gould also uncovers the historical forces and issues that have made the Republicans what they are: the crusade against slavery, the rise of big business, the Cold War, and opposition to the power of the federal government. Based on Gould's research in the papers of leading Republicans and his wide reading in the party's history, Grand Old Party is a book that will outlast the noisy tumult of today's partisan debates and endure as a definitive treatment of how the Republicans have shaped the way Americans live together in a democracy.
Restoring America's Soul : Advancing Timeless Conservative Principles in a Wayward Culture by
Restoring America's Soul lays out a clear, concise and inspired vision of what made America such an exceptional nation and how we can get there again. Today's culture derides and dismisses the traditional, time-proven values that made America greatâso-called conservative values. Liberal professors, the "mainstream" news media, and the Hollywood propaganda machine are brainwashing the nation's youth, convincing them that "conservativism"âthe values once held by most of Americaâamounts to hateful extremism. Nothing could be further from the truth. The true heart of conservatism is its desire to conserve the timeless principles worthy of being kept and to pursue virtue through disciplined self-governance. Too many modern conservatives have lost sight of the transcendent goals that made America great and stand out from the rest of the world. Restoring America's Soul reignites the vision and mission of authentic conservatism and equips busy people to make a fresh and persuasive case for conservative public policy positions on specific key issues. Restoring America's Soul examines conservative's current identity crisis and how it has undermined their effectiveness in attracting citizens and motivating them to become both informed and politically active. Contrasting the popular perceptions of the two major parties, Dunaway urges conservatives to focus more energy on telling others what they support than what they oppose. She reminds conservatives of their noble roots, affirming their ideological alignment with the Founding Fathers' biblical plan for a limited federal government. Rather than solely opposing liberal-left policies, Restoring America's Soul offers genuine solutions to today's multiple crises. Refreshingly, Dunaway suggests an enlightened course forward for the thoughtful conservative.
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by
The National Book Award Finalist and New York Times bestseller that became a guide and balm for a country struggling to understand the election of Donald Trump "A generous but disconcerting look at the Tea Party. . . . This is a smart, respectful and compelling book." --Jason DeParle, The New York Times Book Review When Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, a bewildered nation turned to Strangers in Their Own Land to understand what Trump voters were thinking when they cast their ballots. Arlie Hochschild, one of the most influential sociologists of her generation, had spent the preceding five years immersed in the community around Lake Charles, Louisiana, a Tea Party stronghold. As Jedediah Purdy put it in the New Republic, "Hochschild is fascinated by how people make sense of their lives. . . . [Her] attentive, detailed portraits . . . reveal a gulf between Hochchild's 'strangers in their own land' and a new elite." Already a favorite common read book in communities and on campuses across the country and called "humble and important" by David Brooks and "masterly" by Atul Gawande, Hochschild's book has been lauded by Noam Chomsky, New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu, and countless others. The paperback edition features a new afterword by the author reflecting on the election of Donald Trump and the other events that have unfolded both in Louisiana and around the country since the hardcover edition was published, and also includes a readers' group guide at the back of the book.
Ideas with Consequences: The Federalist Society and the Conservative Counterrevolution by
There are few intellectual movements in modern American political history more successful than the Federalist Society. Created in 1982 to counterbalance what its founders considered a liberal legal establishment, the organization gradually evolved into the conservative legal establishment, andmembership is all but required for any conservative lawyer who hopes to enter politics or the judiciary. It claims 40,000 members, including four Supreme Court Justices, dozens of federal judges, and every Republican attorney general since its inception. But its power goes even deeper.In Ideas with Consequences, Amanda Hollis-Brusky provides the first comprehensive account of how the Federalist Society exerts its influence. Drawing from a huge trove of documents, transcripts, and interviews, she explains how the Federalist Society managed to revolutionize the jurisprudence for awide variety of important legal issues. Many of these issues - including the extent of federal government power, the scope of the right to bear arms, and the parameters of corporate political speech - had long been considered settled. But the Federalist Society was able to upend the existingconventional wisdom, promoting constitutional theories that had previously been dismissed as ludicrously radical. As Hollis-Brusky shows, the Federalist Society provided several of the crucial ingredients needed to accomplish this constitutional revolution. It serves as a credentialing institutionfor conservative lawyers and judges and legitimizes novel interpretations of the constitution that employ a conservative framework. It also provides a judicial audience of like-minded peers, which prevents the well-documented phenomenon of conservative judges turning moderate after years on thebench. As a consequence, it is able to exercise enormous influence on important cases at every level.A far-reaching analysis of some of the most controversial political and legal issues of our time, Ideas with Consequences is the essential guide to the Federalist Society at a time when its power has broader implications than ever.
Making Sense of the Alt-Right by
During the 2016 election, a new term entered the mainstream American political lexicon: ?alt-right,? short for ?alternative right.? Despite the innocuous name, the alt-right is a white-nationalist movement. Yet it differs from earlier racist groups: it is youthful and tech savvy, obsessed with provocation and trolling, amorphous, predominantly online, and mostly anonymous. And it was energized by Donald Trump's presidential campaign. In Making Sense of the Alt-Right, George Hawley provides an accessible introduction and gives vital perspective on the emergence of a group whose overt racism has confounded expectations for a more tolerant America. Hawley explains the movement's origins, evolution, methods, and core belief in white-identity politics. The book explores how the alt-right differs from traditional white nationalism, libertarianism, and other online illiberal ideologies such as neoreaction, as well as from mainstream Republicans and even Donald Trump and Steve Bannon. The alt-right's use of offensive humor and its trolling-driven approach, based in animosity to so-called political correctness, can make it difficult to determine true motivations. Yet through exclusive interviews and a careful study of the alt-right's influential texts, Hawley is able to paint a full picture of a movement that not only disagrees with liberalism but also fundamentally rejects most of the tenets of American conservatism.
The New Authoritarianism: A Risk Analysis of the Alt-Right Phenomenon by
This volume considers from a risk perspective the current phenomenon of the new Alt-Right authoritarianism and whether it represents 'real' democracy or an unacceptable hegemony potentially resulting in elected dictatorships and abuses as well as dysfunctional government. Contributing authors represent an eclectic range of disciplines, including cognitive, organizational and political psychology, sociology, history, political science, international relations, linguistics and discourse analysis, and risk analysis. The Alt-Right threats and risk exposures, whether to democracy, human rights, law and order, social welfare, racial harmony, the economy, national security, the environment, and international relations, are identified and analyzed across a number of selected countries, including the US, UK, Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, and Russia. Potential strategies to limit the Alt-Right threat are proposed.
Against Capital in the Twenty-First Century by
The problems of capitalism have been studied from Karl Marx to Thomas Piketty. The latter has recently confirmed that the system of capital is deeply bound up in ever-growing inequality without challenging the continuance of that system. Against Capital in the Twenty-First Century presents a diversity of analyses and visions opposed to the idea that capital should have yet another century to govern human and non-human resources in the interest of profit and accumulation. The editors and contributors to this timely volume present alternatives to the whole liberal litany of administered economies, tax policy recommendations, and half-measures. They undermine and reject the logic of capital, and the foregone conclusion that the twenty-first century should be given over to capital just as the previous two centuries were.Providing a deep critique of capitalism, based on assessment from a wide range of cultural, social, political, and ecological thinking, Against Capital in the Twenty-First Century insists that transformative, revolutionary, and abolitionist responses to capital are even more necessary in the twenty-first century than they ever were.
Populocracy : The Tyranny of Authenticity and the Rise of Populism by
Populism, or the political ideology that pits the people against elites, has become a significant feature of mature democracies in the twenty-first century. The rise of populist parties on the right and the left, that appeal to a broad electorate--variously described as "disillusioned", "left behind," or "just about managing"--is proving a powerful and disruptive force. Commentators have been quick to explain the success of parties such as UKIP and France's National Front and the election of Donald Trump as the appeal of populism. In this book, Catherine Fieschi looks beyond definitional issues to examine why populism and populist parties have become a feature of our politics. Populism's appeal, she argues, needs to be understood as a response to the fundamental reshaping of our political, economic, and social spheres through globalization and the digital revolution. She shows how new dynamics unleashed by social media--the fantasy of radical transparency, the demand for immediacy, the rejection of expert truth and facts, and the imperative of continuous involvement--have been harnessed by populism, enabling it to make inroads into the political landscape that hitherto would have been unreceptive.
The Populist Persuasion: An American History by
In The Populist Persuasion, the distinguished historian Michael Kazin guides readers through the expressions of conflict between powerful elites and "the people" that have run through our civic life, filling it with discord and meaning from the birth of the United States until the present day. Kazin argues persuasively that the power of populism lies in its adaptable nature. Across the political spectrum, commentators paste the label on forces and individuals who really have just one big thing in common: they are effective at blasting "elites" or "the establishment" for harming the interests and betraying the ideals of "the people" in nations that are committed, at least officially, to democratic principles. Kazin's classic book has influenced debates over populism since its publication. The new preface to this edition brings the story up to date by charting the present resurgence of populist discourse, which was front and center in the 2016 elections and in the Brexit debate.
Inclusive Populism: Creating Citizens in the Global Age by
In this first volume in the Contending Modernities series, Inclusive Populism: Creating Citizens in the Global Age, Angus Ritchie claims that our current political upheavals, exemplified by the far-right populism of billionaire Donald Trump, reveal fundamental flaws in secular liberalism. Ritchie maintains that both liberalism and this "fake populism" resign citizens to an essentially passive role in public life. Ritchie argues instead for an "inclusive populism," in which religious and nonreligious identities and institutions are fully represented in the public square, engaging the diverse communities brought together by global migration to build and lead a common life. Drawing on twenty years of experience in action and reflection in East London, Ritchie posits that the practice of community organizing exemplifies a truly inclusive populism, and that it is also reflected in the teaching of Pope Francis. Speaking to our political crisis and mapping out a way forward, Inclusive Populism will appeal to thoughtful readers and active citizens interested in politics, community organizing, and religion.
Populism in the Digital Age by
The development of social media platforms has allowed a new wave of populism to accelerate rapidly. Tweets, Facebook shares, and viral memes get information to ordinary citizens quickly and directly, without the influence of authorities, and often without the benefit of research and facts. Is this democracy in its purest form or mindless transmission of fake news and irresponsible reporting? What is the result of digital populism, and what can be done to use it for the good of the people? This resource contains viewpoints that will awaken readers to the value of critical thinking skills.
Gerrymanders : How Redistricting Has Protected Slavery, White Supremacy, and Partisan Minorities in Virginia by
Many are aware that gerrymandering exists and suspect it plays a role in our elections, but its history goes far deeper, and its impacts are far greater, than most realize. In his latest book, Brent Tarter focuses on Virginia's long history of gerrymandering to uncover its immense influence on the state's politics and to provide perspective on how the practice impacts politics nationally. Offering the first in-depth historical study of gerrymanders in Virginia, Tarter exposes practices going back to nineteenth century and colonial times and explains how they protected land owners' and slave owners' interests. The consequences of redistricting and reapportionment in modern Virginia--in effect giving a partisan minority the upper hand in all public policy decisions--become much clearer in light of this history. Where the discussion of gerrymandering has typically emphasized political parties' control of Congress, Tarter focuses on the state legislatures that determine congressional district lines and, in most states, even those of their own districts. On the eve of the 2021 session of the General Assembly, which will redraw district lines for Virginia's state Senate and House of Delegates, as well as for the U.S. House of Representatives, Tarter's book provides an eye-opening investigation of gerrymandering and its pervasive effect on our local, state, and national politics and government.
Drawing the Lines: Constraints on Partisan Gerrymandering in U.S. Politics by
Radical redistricting plans, such as that pushed through by Texas governor Rick Perry in 2003, are frequently used for partisan purposes. Perry's plan sent twenty-one Republicans (and only eleven Democrats) to Congress in the 2004 elections. Such heavy-handed tactics strike many as contrary to basic democratic principles. In Drawing the Lines, Nicholas R. Seabrook uses a combination of political science methods and legal studies insights to investigate the effects of redistricting on U.S. House elections.
Jigsaw Puzzle Politics in the Sunshine State by
"The most complete and inventive examination of redistricting in the political science literature. This book shows again that the political laboratory known as the state of Florida combines politics and legislative outcomes like few other states."--Matthew Corrigan, author of Conservative Hurricane "Political science at its best. Essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the politics of redistricting in the Sunshine State. It will be the definitive source to inform discussion on the topic."--Jonathan Knuckey, University of Central Florida Redrawing district lines is arguably the most polarizing of political activities in the United States today. As technological developments permit more and more sophisticated statistical analyses, those in charge of the process are more tempted to gerrymander districts for their own future benefit. At the same time, as this data is made available to the public, litigation and calls for transparency intensify. As a bellwether state, Florida offers a unique and fascinating case study to assess the various effects of redistricting. The contributors to this volume examine the issue from the perspectives of both politicians and voters, exploring the process of redistricting in the wake of major reforms. T
Gomillion Versus Lightfoot: The Tuskegee Gerrymander Case by
Originally published in 1962, this book is the true account of Gomillion v. Lightfoot, a case concerned with the denial of Negro voting rights in Tuskegee, Alabama in order to politically manipulate that township's boundaries, and the first case of its kind to be argued before the Supreme Court. Brilliantly and accurately documented, this is a probing report by Bernard Taper, one of the leading reporters for The New Yorker magazine, who traveled first to Tuskegee and later to Washington, in order to skilfully weave together the background material and the entire case. Taper followed the case from its inception in 1957, through to the personal reactions of Tuskegee's citizens as they became involved, and finally to the Supreme Court in 1960, where he provides a remarkable portrait of the court action and of the Justices as they worked toward their final decision... A gripping read. "Bernard Taper has done an extraordinary job of reporting not only the tangled facts of the Tuskegee Affair, but the feelings of those who were involved in it. With discernment and sympathy he deals with the deep currents of emotion that are eroding the sense of community that once marked the small towns of the South--a far more significant phenomenon than the occasional spectacular flares of racial violence.
Local Party Organizations in the Twenty-First Century by
Demonstrates how local political parties have retained a role of critical importance in American politics.
Local Elections and the Politics of Small-Scale Democracy by
Local government is the hidden leviathan of American politics: it accounts for nearly a tenth of gross domestic product, it collects nearly as much in taxes as the federal government, and its decisions have an enormous impact on Americans' daily lives. Yet political scientists have few explanations for how people vote in local elections, particularly in the smaller cities, towns, and suburbs where most Americans live. Drawing on a wide variety of data sources and case studies, this book offers the first comprehensive analysis of electoral politics in America's municipalities. Arguing that current explanations of voting behavior are ill suited for most local contests, Eric Oliver puts forward a new theory that highlights the crucial differences between local, state, and national democracies. Being small in size, limited in power, and largely unbiased in distributing their resources, local governments are "managerial democracies" with a distinct style of electoral politics. Instead of hinging on the partisanship, ideology, and group appeals that define national and state elections, local elections are based on the custodial performance of civic-oriented leaders and on their personal connections to voters with similarly deep community ties. Explaining not only the dynamics of local elections, Oliver's findings also upend many long-held assumptions about community power and local governance, including the importance of voter turnout and the possibilities for grassroots political change.
Get Out the Vote : How to Increase Voter Turnout by
The most important element in every election is getting voters to the polls--these get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts make the difference between winning and losing office. With the first two editions of Get Out the Vote, Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber broke ground by introducing a new scientific approach to the challenge of voter mobilization that profoundly influenced how campaigns operate. Get Out the Vote has become the reference text for those who manage campaigns and study voter mobilization. In this expanded and updated edition, Green and Gerber incorporate data from more than 100 new studies, which shed new light on the costeffectiveness and efficiency of various campaign tactics, including door-todoor canvassing, email, direct mail, and telephone calls. Two new chapters focus on the effectiveness of registration drives and messaging tactics. The new Get Out the Vote will be available as the country gears up for the 2016 presidential campaign. This readable, practical guide on voter mobilization is sure to be an important resource for consultants, candidates, and grassroots organizations, as well as a valuable teaching tool in courses on campaigns and elections.
Blessed Are the Organized : Grassroots Democracy in America by
In an America where the rich and fortunate have free rein to do as they please, can the ideal of liberty and justice for all be anything but an empty slogan? Many Americans are doubtful, and have withdrawn into apathy and cynicism. But thousands of others are not ready to give up on democracy just yet. Working outside the notice of the national media, ordinary citizens across the nation are meeting in living rooms, church basements, synagogues, and schools to identify shared concerns, select and cultivate leaders, and take action. Their goal is to hold big government and big business accountable. In this important new book, Jeffrey Stout bears witness to the successes and failures of progressive grassroots organizing, and the daunting forces now arrayed against it. Stout tells vivid stories of people fighting entrenched economic and political interests around the country. From parents and teachers striving to overcome gang violence in South Central Los Angeles, to a Latino priest north of the Rio Grande who brings his parish into a citizens' organization, to the New Orleans residents who get out the vote by taking a jazz band through streets devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Stout describes how these ordinary people conceive of citizenship, how they acquire and exercise power, and how religious ideas and institutions contribute to their successes. The most important book on organizing and grassroots democracy in a generation, Blessed Are the Organized is a passionate and hopeful account of how our endangered democratic principles can be put into action.
Poll Power : The Voter Education Project and the Movement for the Ballot in the American South by
The civil rights movement required money. In the early 1960s, after years of grassroots organizing, civil rights activists convinced nonprofit foundations to donate in support of voter education and registration efforts. One result was the Voter Education Project (VEP), which, starting in 1962, showed far-reaching results almost immediately and organized the groundwork that eventually led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In African American communities across the South, the VEP catalyzed existing campaigns; it paid for fuel, booked rallies, bought food for volunteers, and paid people to canvass neighborhoods. Despite this progress, powerful conservatives in Congress weaponized the federal tax code to undercut the important work of the VEP. Though local power had long existed in the hundreds of southern towns and cities that saw organized civil rights action, the VEP was vital to converting that power into political motion. Evan Faulkenbury offers a much-needed explanation of how philanthropic foundations, outside funding, and tax policy shaped the southern black freedom movement.
Pakistan's Political Parties by
Pakistan's 2018 general elections marked the second successful transfer of power from one elected civilian government to another--a remarkable achievement considering the country's history of dictatorial rule. Pakistan's Political Parties examines how the civilian side of the state's current regime has survived the transition to democracy, providing critical insight into the evolution of political parties in Pakistan and their role in developing democracies in general. Pakistan's numerous political parties span the ideological spectrum, as well as represent diverse regional, ethnic, and religious constituencies. The essays in this volume explore the way in which these parties both contend and work with Pakistan's military-bureaucratic establishment to assert and expand their power. Researchers use interviews, surveys, data, and ethnography to illuminate the internal dynamics and motivations of these groups and the mechanisms through which they create policy and influence state and society. Pakistan's Political Parties is a one-of-a-kind resource for diplomats, policymakers, journalists, and scholars searching for a comprehensive overview of Pakistan's party system and its unlikely survival against an interventionist military, with insights that extend far beyond the region.
Reshaping the Political Arena in Latin America by
Neoliberalism changed the face of Latin America and left average citizens struggling to cope in many ways. Popular sectors were especially hard hit as wages declined and unemployment increased. The backlash to neoliberalism in the form of popular protest and electoral mobilization opened space for leftist governments to emerge. The turn to left governments raised popular expectations for a second wave of incorporation. Although a growing literature has analyzed many aspects of left governments, there is no study of how the redefinition of the organized popular sectors, their allies, and their struggles have reshaped the political arena to include their interests--until now. This volume examines the role played in the second wave of incorporation by political parties, trade unions, and social movements in five cases: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela. The cases shed new light on a subject critical to understanding the change in the distribution of political power related to popular sectors and their interests--a key issue in the study of postneoliberalism.
An Introduction to the Politics of the Indonesian Union Movement by
Myanmar Media in Transition: "In this most significant contemporary study of Indonesian trade unions and the broader working class, Max Lane provides a concise and informed examination of the practical and ideological challenges of incipient labour organizations engaged in political and popular struggles in an underdeveloped nation. This detailed and highly informative book evokes similar historical and comparative struggles of exploited workers worldwide and is indispensable for students of labour movements in the Global South."--Immanuel Ness, Professor of Political Science, City University of New York, author of Southern Insurgency: The Coming of the Global Working Class
The Evolving Role of National Parliaments in the European Union by
This book examines the gradually increasing role of national parliaments in the European Union and asks how and why this came about. It takes Ireland as a case study, examining the relationship between Ireland's parliament (the Oireachtas) and the European Union. It also focuses sharply on parliament's role in European affairs in Ireland, a jurisdiction of strong comparative interest to the UK . It examines the evolution in national parliaments' roles, the reasons for change and the challenges that must be faced in making further progress. The book analyses Ireland's slow parliamentary adaptation to European integration, analyses the impact of the Lisbon Treaty and economic crises in accelerating reform, and identifies where improvement is still badly needed.
Ireland, West Germany and the New Europe, 1949-73 by
This groundbreaking book is an indispensable contribution to appreciating the dilemmas facing Ireland in the 'age of Brexit'. Encompassing an exhaustive account, it traces the relationship between Ireland and FRG by drawing on original material from both. It critiques depictions of Irish-German relations as peculiarly affable and explores the problems presented by trade, Britain, neutrality, NATO, Northern Ireland and the Cold War. The work contends the German 'economic miracle' was a vital stimulus for Ireland's tardy retreat from protectionism. It maintains that Ireland's reorientation was informed by lessons gleaned from Irish-German trade relations as well as a budding recognition of the potential offered by German industrial investment. This granted Germany weighty influence over the shape and direction of Ireland.
A Free Country: Australians' Search for Utopia 1861-1901 by
A Free Country: Australians' Search for Utopia 1861-1901 tells how Australians, inspired by their new democracy, attempted to use their freedom to build a society without social and economic conflict. As the second book in a landmark five-volume Australian Liberalism series, A Free Country shows the successes and missteps in the attempt to establish the legal and moral foundations for a liberal society in Australia, examining the ideological battles of the period. The national politics of twentieth-century Australia had their roots during this time, as utopian dreams of 'social reconstruction' opposed liberal ideals of individual freedom, fostering the concept of 'class wars' and leading to the ongoing involvement of trade unions in politics. As emerging collective ideas of nationalism, empire, race and class challenged individual rights and threatened to seed domestic and international conflict, liberals succeeded in bringing the six colonies into one Australian nation founded on liberal principles, writing a constitution hailed as the most democratic in the world.
Politics in Georgia by
This new edition has been extensively updated to reflect developments in Georgia politics and government since 2007--a decade that has seen three presidential election cycles, two midterm elections, and a census. Updates reflect not only changes in how Georgia is governed but also the economic and social trends helping to drive those changes. These include the continued growth and dispersal of Hispanic and Asian populations; the decline, by a variety of measures, of rural areas; and the moderating effect of pro-business government factions on social conservative agendas. This edition maintains the book's comparative approach, which examines the state from three revealing perspectives. This allows readers to determine the extent to which Georgia is similar to its peers on such topics as the length and features of the constitution, the organization of the state government, and the nature of policies. All this allows students and scholars to have a better understanding of the political and economic dynamics of Georgia and the relationship of those dynamics to national political and economic developments.
This section provides selected books and eBooks from GALILEO that are related to news, social media, and politics. This is not an exhaustive list and it is just some selections to help generate ideas for resources or topics for research.
Tab Sections Defined
General/Reference - Books that are encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries that provide general information as it relates to media and politics.
Social Media - Books related to social media and political topics.
News - Books that discuss the topics of the press, journalism, and general media as it relates to politics.
Trending Topics in Media and Politics - This section contains books whose subjects include popular political topics and/or books related to popular issues in media and politics.
Finding the Facts - Books that teach readers how to fact check or specifically fact-check news stories that are related to politics.
A Handbook of Journalism: Media in the Information Age by
Journalism as a discipline is becoming increasingly important today. It has to contend with new challenges such as the explosion of social media, heightened commercial competition in the mainstream media and the emergence of the media as a powerful actor in public policy and governance. The confluence of these factors calls for fresh thinking about the teaching and practice of journalism. A Handbook of Journalism: Media in the Information Age not only helps readers to understand today's media environment but also prepares them to face the existing challenges.
Encyclopedia of Misinformation: A Compendium of Imitations, Spoofs, Delusions, Simulations, Counterfeits, Impostors, Illusions, Confabulations, Skullduggery, Frauds, Pseudoscience, Propaganda, Hoaxes, Flimflam, Pranks, Hornswoggle, Conspiracies & Miscella by
How have the media, government, technology, and history deceived us? Have fake and real become indistinguishable? Were we ever unburdened of disinformation, or is deception bound to the human experience? Are we being manipulated right now, or worse yet, are we deceiving ourselves? These are the provocative questions within The Encyclopedia of Misinformation, a compendium of deception and delusion throughout history. In a frolicking series of vignettes, author Rex Sorgatz saunters through propaganda and subterfuge in eclectic contexts, including science and religion, comedy and law, sports and video games. Slingshotting through conspiracy theories, internet and popular culture, and perplexing psychological phenomena, this compendium illuminates deliriously diverse subjects: Artificial Intelligence, Auto-Tune, Chilean Sea Bass, Claques, Clickbait, Cognitive Dissonance, Cryptids, Dark Matter, False Flag Operations, Gaslighting, Gerrymandering, Kayfabe, Laugh Tracks, Milli Vanilli, Phantom Time Hypothesis, Photoshopping, Potemkin Villages, Rachel Dolezal, Strategery, Truthiness, and the Uncanny Valley. Encyclopedic in scope, but with an incisive voice tuned to these bedeviling times, this is the modern reference book to engage a world rife with artifice and deception.
Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics by
As mentioned on NPR's It's All Politics! The Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics explores how the rise of social media is altering politics both in the United States and in key moments, movements, and places around the world. Its scope encompasses the disruptive technologies and activities that are changing basic patterns in American politics and the amazing transformations that social media use is rendering in other political systems heretofore resistant to democratization and change. In a time when social media are revolutionizing and galvanizing politics in the United States and around the world, this encyclopedia is a must-have reference. It reflects the changing landscape of politics where old modes and methods of political communication from elites to the masses (top-down) and from the masses to elites (bottom-up) are being displaced rapidly by social media, and where activists are building new movements and protests using social media to alter mainstream political agendas.
Modern Media, Elections and Democracy by
Modern Media, Elections and Democracy explores how the modern media functions in a democracy, especially during elections, when it performs the crucial role of educating people and moulding public opinion. At such times, it becomes an arena for public debate and sometimes even a check against the abuse of power. The book analyses the constraints that curb the immense power of the media. It takes up issues that restrict free political debate and, in response, studies the statutory provisions that defend and protect freedom of expression. In this context, the author refers to many legal suits, case studies, jurisprudence governing election coverage, international standards for media practices, and so on. The book identifies ways in which various forms of media exert influence on politics and argues that the modern media--in all its forms--is expanding the scope of political pluralism.
The Handbook of Diasporas, Media, and Culture by
A multidisciplinary, authoritative outline of the current intellectual landscape of the field. Over the past three decades, the term 'diaspora' has been featured in many research studies and in wider theoretical debates in areas such as communications, the humanities, social sciences, politics, and international relations. The Handbook of Diasporas, Media, and Culture explores new dimensions of human mobility and connectivity--presenting state-of-the-art research and key debates on the intersection of media, cultural, and diasporic studies This innovative and timely book helps readers to understand diasporic cultures and their impact on the globalized world. The Handbook presents contributions from internationally-recognized scholars and researchers to strengthen understanding of diasporas and diasporic cultures, diasporic media and cultural resources, and the various forms of diasporic organization, expression, production, distribution, and consumption. Divided into seven sections, this wide-ranging volume covers topics such as methodological challenges and innovations in diasporic research, the construction of diasporic identity, the politics of diasporic integration, the intersection of gender and generation with the diasporic condition, new technologies in media, and many others. A much-needed resource for anyone with interest diasporic studies, this book: Presents new and original theory, research, and essays Employs unique methodological and conceptual debates Offers contributions from a multidisciplinary team of scholars and researchers Explores new and emerging trends in the study of diasporas and media Applies a wide-ranging, international perspective to the subject Due to its international perspective, interdisciplinary approach, and wide range of authors from around the world, The Handbook of Diasporas, Media, and Culture is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, lecturers, and researchers in areas that focus on the relationship of media and society, ethnic identity, race, class and gender, globalization and immigration, and other relevant fields.
Disconnect: Facebook's Affective Bonds by
An urgent examination of the threat posed to social media by user disconnection, and the measures websites will take to prevent it No matter how pervasive and powerful social media websites become, users always have the option of disconnecting--right? Not exactly, as Tero Karppi reveals in this disquieting book. Pointing out that platforms like Facebook see disconnection as an existential threat--and have undertaken wide-ranging efforts to eliminate it--Karppi argues that users' ability to control their digital lives is gradually dissipating. Taking a nonhumancentric approach, Karppi explores how modern social media platforms produce and position users within a system of coded relations and mechanisms of power. For Facebook, disconnection is an intense affective force. It is a problem of how to keep users engaged with the platform, but also one of keeping value, attention, and desires within the system. Karppi uses Facebook's financial documents as a map to navigate how the platform sees its users. Facebook's plans to connect the entire globe through satellites and drones illustrates the material webs woven to keep us connected. Karppi analyzes how Facebook's interface limits the opportunity to opt-out--even continuing to engage users after their physical death. Showing how users have fought to take back their digital lives, Karppi chronicles responses like Web2.0 Suicide Machine, an art project dedicated to committing digital suicide. For Karppi, understanding social media connectivity comes from unbinding the bonds that stop people from leaving these platforms. Disconnection brings us to the limit of user policies, algorithmic control, and platform politics. Ultimately, Karppi's focus on the difficulty of disconnection, rather than the ease of connection, reveals how social media has come to dominate human relations.
Columns to Characters : The Presidency and the Press Enter the Digital Age by
The relationship between the presidency and the press has transformed--seemingly overnight--from one where reports and columns were filed, edited, and deliberated for hours before publication into a brave new world where texts, tweets, and sound bites race from composition to release within a matter of seconds. This change, which has ultimately made political journalism both more open and more difficult, brings about many questions, but perhaps the two most important are these: Are the hard questions still being asked? Are they still being answered? In Columns to Characters, Stephanie A. Martin and top scholars and journalists offer a fresh perspective on how the evolution of technology affects the way presidents interact with the public. From Bill Clinton's saxophone playing on the Arsenio Hall Show to Barack Obama's skillful use of YouTube, Twitter, and Reddit as the first "social media president," political communication appears to reflect the increasing fragmentation of the American public.
Social Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age by
Philip M. Napoli offers a timely and persuasive case for seeing social media as news media, with a fundamental obligation to serve the public interest. Media Technocracy offers valuable insights for the democratic governance of today's most influential shapers of news.
How Trump Thinks : His Tweets and the Birth of a New Political Language by
The most unusual feature of Donald Trump's nationalist and populist campaign for the presidency of the USA was his obsessive use of Twitter. Like other social media, this form of communication has often been assumed to encourage the dissemination of liberal values and the circulation of facts. Trump's tweets, by contrast, formed a constant stream of provocations, insults, conspiracy theories,'alternative facts'and outright lies. And they helped him win power. Peter Oborne, author of The Rise of Political Lying and Not The Chilcot Report, analyses Trump's incendiary mendacity in all its bewildering guises and shows how this fusion of entertainment and cunningly crafted propaganda has destabilized the world's most powerful democracy.
United States of Distraction : Media Manipulation in Post-Truth America (And What We Can Do About It) by
A powerful critique of how manipulation of media gives rise to disinformation, intolerance, and divisiveness, and what can be done to change direction. "Mickey Huff and Nolan Higdon emphasize what we can do today to restore the power of facts, truth, and fair, inclusive journalism as tools for people to keep political and corporate power subordinate to the engaged citizenry and the common good."--Ralph Nader The role of news media in a free society is to investigate, inform, and provide a crucial check on political power. But does it? It's no secret that the goal of corporate-owned media is to increase the profits of the few, not to empower the many. As a result, people are increasingly immersed in an information system structured to reinforce their social biases and market to their buying preferences. Journalism's essential role has been drastically compromised, and Donald Trump's repeated claims of "fake news" and framing of the media as "an enemy of the people" have made a bad scenario worse. Written in the spirit of resistance and hope, the United States of Distraction offers a clear, concise appraisal of our current situation, and presents readers with action items for how to improve it.
Republic on the Wire : Cable Television, Pluralism, and the Politics of New Technologies, 1948-1984 by
The history of cable television in America is far older than networks like MTV, ESPN, and HBO, which are so familiar to us today. Tracing the origins of cable TV back to the late 1940s, media scholar John McMurria also locates the roots of many current debates about premium television, cultural elitism, minority programming, content restriction, and corporate ownership. Republic on the Wire takes us back to the pivotal years in which media regulators and members of the viewing public presciently weighed the potential benefits and risks of a two-tiered television system, split between free broadcasts and pay cable service. Digging into rare archives, McMurria reconstructs the arguments of policymakers, whose often sincere advocacy for the public benefits of cable television were fueled by cultural elitism and the priority to maintain order during a period of urban Black rebellions. He also tells the story of the people of color, rural residents, women's groups, veterans, seniors, and low-income viewers who challenged this reasoning and demanded an equal say over the future of television. By excavating this early cable history, and placing equality at the center of our understanding of media democracy, Republic on the Wire is a real eye-opener as it develops a new methodology for studying media policy in the past and present.
Against the Grain: Bombthrowing in the Fine American Tradition of Political Cartooning by
Editorial cartoonists are an endangered species, and even in their heyday they were rare birds--at the top ranks of print journalism, only a few hundred such jobs existed worldwide in the 20th century. Yet those who wielded the drawing pen had enormous influence and popularity as they caricatured news events and newsmakers into "ink-drenched bombshells" that often said more than the accompanying news stories. Bill Sanders, working in a liberal tradition that stretches back to Thomas Nast and in more recent times includes Herblock, Oliphant, Feiffer, and Trudeau, began his career in the Eisenhower era and is still drawing in the age of Trump. In Against the Grain, he shares the upbringing and experiences that prepared him to inflict his opinions on the readers of the three major newspapers he worked for, the 100-plus papers he was syndicated in, and now, an internet channel.Sanders's memoir is both personal and political.
Media and Politics : Discourses, Cultures, and Practices by 
A Nation Fragmented: The Public Agenda in the Information Age by
The transformation from an undifferentiated public to a surfeit of interest groups has become yet another distinguishing feature of the increasing polarization of American politics. Jill Edy and Patrick Meirick contend that the media has played a key role in this splintering. A Nation Fragmented reveals how the content and character of the public agenda has transformed as the media environment evolved from network television and daily newspapers in the late 1960s to today's saturated social media world with 200 cable channels.The authors seek to understand what happened as the public's sense of shared priorities deteriorated. They consider to what extent our public agenda has "fallen apart" as attention to news has declined, and to what extent we have been "driven apart" by changes in the issue agendas of news. Edy and Meirick also show how public attention is limited and spread too thin except in cases where a highly consistent news agenda can provoke a more focused public agenda. A Nation Fragmented explores the media's influence and political power and, ultimately, how contemporary democracy works.
How to Save Politics in a Post-Truth Era by
The rise of populism, Donald Trump's election and the result of the EU referendum in the UK have been widely interpreted as a rejection of the post-war liberal order - the manifestation of a desire to undermine the political system that people feel has let them down. Yet mainstream politicians and analysts have been slow to grasp the changing situation, instead relying on a rhetoric of 'hard data' and narrow economic arguments while failing to properly engage with the politics of identity. This book argues that the relationship between methodology and politics is now more important than ever - that politics, if it is anything, is about engaging with people's interpretations and narratives of the world in which they find themselves. Politics in this new 'post-truth' era will require an appreciation of the fact we live in an uncertain world of endless diversity and potential for change. This thoughtful book addresses how we might think about and do politics in these strange new times.
The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet by
"No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Did you know that these twenty-six words are responsible for much of America's multibillion-dollar online industry? What we can and cannot write, say, and do online is based on just one law--a law that protects online services from lawsuits based on user content. Jeff Kosseff exposes the workings of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which has lived mostly in the shadows since its enshrinement in 1996. Because many segments of American society now exist largely online, Kosseff argues that we need to understand and pay attention to what Section 230 really means and how it affects what we like, share, and comment upon every day. The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet tells the story of the institutions that flourished as a result of this powerful statute. It introduces us to those who created the law, those who advocated for it, and those involved in some of the most prominent cases decided under the law. Kosseff assesses the law that has facilitated freedom of online speech, trolling, and much more. His keen eye for the law, combined with his background as an award-winning journalist, demystifies a statute that affects all our lives -for good and for ill. While Section 230 may be imperfect and in need of refinement, Kosseff maintains that it is necessary to foster free speech and innovation. For filings from many of the cases discussed in the book and updates about Section 230, visit jeffkosseff.com
Trump Studies: An Intellectual Guide to Why Citizens Vote Against Their Interests by
Why do citizens vote against their own best interest? Trump Studies addresses this key question; probing the value of thinking, reading, writing and interpretation during times of economic, social and political uncertainty. With a compelling voice and academic rigour, the authors explore how and why xenophobia and sexism are the grammar of contemporary popular culture and politics. The Brexit result and the Trump victory cannot be studied in a laboratory; the silent majority will not sit in a petri dish, waiting to be researched. The theories and methodologies developed into this book not only explain these two mega and meta events, they create space for ideas that challenge and dissent, and make the case for the role and value of universities in a time when evidence, expertise and facts often dissolve into opinion, emotion and fake news. Donald Trump does not matter. Trump Studies does matter - and this is a siren call to all intellectuals to intervene and transform the currency of theory in empiricist times.
Enemy of the People : Trump's War on the Press, the New McCarthyism, and the Threat to American Democracy by
Shortly after assuming office in January 2017, President Donald Trump accused the press of being an "enemy of the American people." Attacks on the media had been a hallmark of Trump's presidential campaign, but this charge marked a dramatic turning point: language like this ventured into dangerous territory. Twentieth-century dictators--notably, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao--had all denounced their critics, especially the press, as "enemies of the people." Their goal was to delegitimize the work of the press as "fake news" and create confusion in the public mind about what's real and what isn't; what can be trusted and what can't be. That, it seems, is also Trump's goal. In Enemy of the People, Marvin Kalb, an award-winning American journalist with more than six decades of experience both as a journalist and media observer, writes with passion about why we should fear for the future of American democracy because of the unrelenting attacks by the Trump administration on the press. As his new book shows, the press has been a bulwark in the defense of democracy. Kalb writes about Edward R. Murrow's courageous reporting on Senator Joseph McCarthy's "red scare" theatrics in the early 1950s, which led to McCarthy's demise. He reminds us of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's reporting in the early 1970s that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation. Today, because of revolutionary changes in journalism, no Murrow is ready at the battlements. Journalism has been severely weakened. Yet, without a virile, strong press, democracy is in peril. Kalb's book is a frightening indictment of President Trump's efforts to delegitimize the American press--and put the future of our democracy in question.
Politics and Technology in the Post-Truth Era by
Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have directly impacted the way in which politics operates today. Bringing together research on Europe, the US, South America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, this book examines the relationship between ICT and politics in a global perspective. Technological innovations such as big data, data mining, sentiment analysis, cognitive computing, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, social media and blockchain technology are reshaping the way ICT intersects with politics and in this collection contributors examine these developments, demonstrating their impact on the political landscape. Chapters examine topics such as cyberwarfare and propaganda, post-Soviet space, Snowden, US national security, e-government, GDPR, democratization in Africa and internet freedom. Providing an overview of new research on the emerging relationship between the promise and potential inherent in ICT and its impact on politics, this edited collection will prove an invaluable text for students, researchers and practitioners working in the fields of Politics, International Relations and Computer Science.
Politics and Technology in the Post-Truth Era by
Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have directly impacted the way in which politics operates today. Bringing together research on Europe, the US, South America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, this book examines the relationship between ICT and politics in a global perspective. Technological innovations such as big data, data mining, sentiment analysis, cognitive computing, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, social media and blockchain technology are reshaping the way ICT intersects with politics and in this collection contributors examine these developments, demonstrating their impact on the political landscape. Chapters examine topics such as cyberwarfare and propaganda, post-Soviet space, Snowden, US national security, e-government, GDPR, democratization in Africa and internet freedom. Providing an overview of new research on the emerging relationship between the promise and potential inherent in ICT and its impact on politics, this edited collection will prove an invaluable text for students, researchers and practitioners working in the fields of Politics, International Relations and Computer Science.
Information Literacy: Separating Fact from Fiction by
People today live in a world of information overload. Each day, information is shared from countless sources through numerous devices. Learning how to handle this onslaught of information has become a vital task for everyone. By the time they reach upper elementary school, most students are using smart phones, tablets and computers to access social media, video websites, online forums, wikis, blogs, and interactive digital games. Students need guidance on how to analyze online information sources, critically think about the content, and apply it to their decision-making. This essential professional resource includes everything that teachers need to help students achieve digital literacy, and includes activities and easy-to-use templates to support teachers as they teach the key skills of analyzing and understanding online information. This book consists of three sections: Finding Information, Analyzing Information, and Using Information. The topics covered include: an introduction to information literacy; search techniques and strategies; asking and answering good questions; thinking visually; organizing information; online civic reasoning; analyzing online sources; using technology to teach; project-based learning with technology. With the amount of online information sources increasing exponentially, this book will equip teachers with the tools they need to help their students become global citizens and 21st century thinkers.
Antisocial Media: Anxious Labor in the Digital Economy by
The debate surrounding the transformation of work at the hands of digital technology and the anxieties brought forth by automation, the sharing economy, and the exploitation of leisure We have been told that digital technology is now threatening the workplace as we know it, that advances in computing and robotics will soon make human labor obsolete, that the sharing economy, exemplified by Uber and Airbnb, will degrade the few jobs that remain, and that the boundaries between work and play are collapsing as Facebook and Instagram infiltrate our free time. In this timely critique, Greg Goldberg examines the fear that work is being eviscerated by digital technology. He argues that it is not actually the degradation or disappearance of work that is so troubling, but rather the underlying notion that society itself is under attack, and more specifically the bonds of responsibility on which social relations depend. Rather than rushing to the defense of the social, however, Goldberg instead imagines the appeal of refusing the hard work of being a responsible and productive member of society.
More Than Meets the Eye: Special Effects and the Fantastic Transmedia Franchise by
A rare look at the role of special effects in creating fictional worlds and transmedia franchises From comic book universes crowded with soaring superheroes and shattering skyscrapers to cosmic empires set in far-off galaxies, today's fantasy blockbusters depend on visual effects. Bringing science fiction from the studio to your screen, through film, television, or video games, these special effects power our entertainment industry. More Than Meets the Eye delves into the world of fantastic media franchises to trace the ways in which special effects over the last 50 years have become central not just to transmedia storytelling but to worldbuilding, performance, and genre in contemporary blockbuster entertainment. More Than Meets the Eye maps the ways in which special effects build consistent storyworlds and transform genres while traveling from one media platform to the next. Examining high-profile franchises in which special effects have played a constitutive role such as Star Trek, Star Wars, The Matrix, and The Lord of the Rings, as well as more contemporary franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter, Bob Rehak analyzes the ways in which production practices developed alongside the cultural work of industry professionals. By studying social and cultural factors such as fan interaction, this book provides a context for understanding just how much multiplatform storytelling has come to define these megahit franchises. More Than Meets the Eye explores the larger history of how physical and optical effects in postwar Hollywood laid the foundation for modern transmedia franchises and argues that special effects are not simply an adjunct to blockbuster filmmaking, but central agents of an entire mode of production.
