Description
Book SynopsisShort Stories and Political Philosophy: Power, Prose, and Persuasion explores the relationship between fictional short stories and the classic works of political philosophy. This edited volume addresses the innovative ways that short stories grapple with the same complex political and moral questions, concerns, and problems studied in the fields of political philosophy and ethics. The volume is designed to highlight the ways in which short stories may be used as an access point for the challenging works of political philosophy encountered in higher education. Each chapter analyzes a single story through the lens of thinkers ranging from Plato and Aristotle to Max Weber and Hannah Arendt. The contributors to this volume do not adhere to a single theme or intellectual tradition. Rather, this volume is a celebration of the intellectual and literary diversity available to students and teachers of political philosophy. It is a resource for scholars as well as educators who seek to incorpora
Trade Review"Short Stories and Political Philosophy reminds us of the age-old truth that stories are foundational in human life. Through stories we come to understand ourselves -- and our political condition. This book is a gem." -- Susan McWilliams Barndt, Pomona College
The use of literature in the discourse of political philosophy has a long and rich tradition. Dolgoy, Hale, and Peabody have added to that tradition in a unique fashion, by putting together and contributing to a remarkable collection of commentaries on short stories by, among others, William Faulkner, Wendell Berry, Ken Liu, and Shirley Jackson. The essays in this collection are wide ranging in thought, superbly related to traditional philosophical texts, and accompanied by excellent pedagogical advice. This volume will send political theorists to the book shelves looking to read the stories and, ultimately, to their classrooms to share what they have discovered. -- Cecil L. Eubanks, Louisiana State University
Table of ContentsChapter One: Introduction - Bruce Peabody, Kimberly Hurd Hale, and Erin A. Dolgoy Chapter Two: Big Data for the Good Life: Ken Liu’s “The Perfect Match” - Erin A. Dolgoy Chapter Three: Paolo Bacigalupi’s “Pop Squad” and the Examined Life Worth Living - Kimberly Hurd Hale Chapter Four: All the World’s a Cage: Franz Kafka, “A Hunger Artist” - Timothy McCranor and Steven Michels Chapter Five: Conflicting Moral Goods: William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” - Mary P. Nichols Chapter Six: From the Iron Cage to the “Waters of Babylon:” Rationalization and Renewal in a Weberian World - Bruce Peabody Chapter Seven: The Terrible Justice of Reality: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” and the Dilemmas of Political Responsibility - Michael Christopher Sardo Chapter Eight: Kinship, Community, and the Bureaucratic State: A Study of Wendell Berry’s “Fidelity” - Drew Kennedy Thompson Chapter Nine: “The Incarnation of My Native Land:” Clover Adams in Henry James’ “Pandora” - Natalie Fuehrer Taylor Chapter Ten: Jumping at Our Reflection: American Dystopia and Reaction in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” - Abram Trosky Chapter Eleven: Conclusion - Kimberly Hurd Hale, Bruce Peabody, and Erin A. Dolgoy
