Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Schlosser is a master at making old texts relevant to the new world, and, with
Herodotus in the Anthropocene, he brings Herodotus into conversation with the present, as a kind of corrective to modern liberal political theory. Such an orientation toward the political world—toward human activity and possibility—is one we need to embrace in the present, anthropocenic age. This is a strong and provocative explication that deserves attention in political theory and beyond.” -- Susan McWilliams Barndt, Pomona College
“Herodotus can serve as an engaging guide to a contemporary understanding of the challenges emerging from a changing and powerful nature that is itself constituted by human actions. There is much that is valuable and insightful that comes from reading Herodotus; Schlosser most skillfully and elegantly connects those insights to the larger themes of nature and human interaction and the consequences of those interactions for our political life.” -- Arlene Saxonhouse, University of Michigan
"There is something in this engagingly written book for several interest groups. For the student of Herodotus there is the stimulus of being asked to admire, as virtues, characteristics of his approach to history which are more frequently regarded as vices; for the student of political science there are some interesting insights into to the complicated characteristics of democracy; for the student of the Anthropocene there is the encouragement to use the example of Herodotus to think more pluralistically about their research." * Classics for All *
"Schlosser’s rich and detailed account of the
Histories will be of great interest to scholars of Herodotus, stretching far beyond Herodotus’s relevance to the Anthropocene. There are textually detailed and careful readings of the many episodes of the
Histories, rethinking and reinterpreting foundational ideas such as
nomoi, the
oikeomenê (the known world), equality. . . and freedom (
elutheria)." * Perspectives on Politics *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1 The Nature of Things
2 The Known World
3 The Practice of
Nomos 4 Narrating Inquiry
5 Freedom and Earthly Flourishing
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
