Description
Book SynopsisThis collection of essays is an invaluable companion for understanding the composition, reception, and contemporary legacy of Alexis de Tocqueville''s classic work Democracy in America. Chapters by political theorists, intellectual historians, economists, political scientists, and community organizers explore the major intellectual influences on Tocqueville''s thought, the book''s reception in its own day and by subsequent political thinkers, and its enduring relevance for some of today''s most pressing issues. Chapters tackle Tocqueville''s insights into liberal democracy, civil society and civic engagement, social reform, religion and politics, free markets, constitutional interpretation, the history of slavery and race relations, gender, literature, and foreign policy. The many ways in which Tocqueville''s ideas have been taken up sometimes at cross-purposes by subsequent thinkers and political actors around the world are also examined. This volume demonstrates the enduring global
Trade Review'Classic texts fuse style, substance, and significance in a mysterious alchemy. This Companion to Democracy in America reveals how Tocqueville's classic both emerges from and transcends its time: how it continues to inspire opposed ideologies, how it passes into different cultures, and how it still illuminates contemporary concerns with inequality, race, gender, religion, and identity. Superbly edited by Richard Boyd, it is an essential guide to Tocqueville in the 21st century.' Cheryl B. Welch, Harvard University
'This collection of essays on Democracy in America brings together scholars from many different disciplines in a wide-ranging discussion of one of the most important and well-known works of modern political thought. Both readers familiar with the work and those new to it will find much material for reflection here. The Companion will be an indispensable resource for all those interested in Tocqueville, in democracy, and in American culture.' Alan Kahan, Université de Paris-Saclay
'Is there anything new to be said about Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America? This volume of finely crafted chapters shows that there quite definitely is. Broad in scope and in historical range, each essay reveals something new about the man and his famous book, be it about Tocqueville's sources and intellectual influences, the book's reception then and now, its truly global and lasting footprint, its literary qualities, as well as the important questions of our day about which -if Tocqueville has not always been proved right – he still has the capacity to make us think, not least in what looks like an increasingly post-Tocquevillian America.' Jeremy Jennings, Kings College London
'The political, scholarly, and intellectual range of the contributors is impressive …' Raymond Hain, Society
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Revisiting 'Democracy in America' in the Twenty-First Century Richard Boyd; Part I. Sources and Contexts: 1. Tocqueville and the Philosophy of the Enlightenment Ryan Patrick Hanley; 2. Tocqueville's Dialogues Aurelian Craiutu; 3. Fugitive Aristocracy: Tocqueville's Search for Remnants of the Ancien Régime Richard Avramenko; Part II. Receptions and Applications: 4. Tocqueville's Conservatism and the Conservative's Tocqueville Richard Boyd; 5. Tocqueville and the Political Left in America: Heeding a Call for Decisive Action Robert T. Gannett, Jr.; 6. Democracy in the (Other) America José Antonio Aguilar Rivera; 7. Tocqueville in Japan and China: Readings and Questions James T. Schleifer; 8. Tocqueville and Anti-Americanism Alan Levine; Part III. Genres and Themes: 9. 'Ideas for the Intellect and Emotions for the Heart': The Literary Dimensions of Democracy in America Christine Dunn Henderson; 10. Tocquevillian Association and the Market Rachael K. Behr and Virgil Henry Storr; 11. Tocqueville on the Federal Constitution Jeremy D. Bailey; 12. Religion in Democracy in America Carson Holloway; 13. Tocqueville's Puritans Joshua Mitchell; Part IV. Democracy's Enduring Challenges: 14. Tocqueville's American Girls: Women, Manners, and the Engendering of Democracy Eileen Hunt Botting; 15. Picturing American Democracy: Tocqueville, Morrison, and the 'Three Races' Lawrie Balfour; 16. Democracy in America in the Twenty-First Century: New Challenges of Diversity and Inequality Rogers M. Smith.
