Description
Book SynopsisWhen Worlds Elide responds to the various incarnations of "the Greek" legacy that continues to mark our politics, our society, and our education. It offers both an elaboration of these incarnations and a critique of how they are understood and used politically, culturally, theoretically, and pedagogically.
Trade ReviewAnyone who has doubted the value of antiquity for the twenty-first century will come away from this book a true believer in the relevance of classics to the most pressing contemporary concerns. Far from offering easy solutions or facile analogies, When Worlds Elide boldly critiques classics itself in relation to nationalism, elites, material culture, and the structure of the university. This is a must-read resource—lucid, complex and exciting—for those interested in abiding questions: What makes a community? Who should lead? What is ethical? How do we reconcile money and political ambition? -- Richard P. Martin, Stanford University
This exciting collection, with its stellar list of contributors, sets a bold agenda for the interdisciplinary study of classics and politics in the twenty-first century. It proves that it is indeed possible to conjoin theoretical insight with erudition and a passionate commitment to the enduring significance of Greek antiquity. -- Josiah Ober, Stanford University
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction Part 2 Part One: Classics Chapter 3 Chapter 1. Origins, Culture, and Identity in Classical Antiquity Chapter 4 Chapter 2. Greece of the East: Philhellenism in Imperial Japan Chapter 5 Chapter 3. Philhellenism, Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism Chapter 6 Chapter 4.The Materiality of Classical Studies Part 7 Part Two: Politics Chapter 8 Chapter 5. Making Prometheus Speak: Dialogue, Torture, and the Power of Secrets in Prometheus Bound Chapter 9 Chapter 6. For Love of the Impossible: Antigone, Memory, and the Politics of Possibility Chapter 10 Chapter 7. Athens' Tale of Two Cities: Themistocles, Theseus, and the Construction of "Place" in Fifth-Century Athens Chapter 11 Chapter 8. Thucydides in Baghdad Chapter 12 Chapter 9. Before Race: Theorizing Athenian Citizen Identity Chapter 13 Chapter 10. Comedy, the Ordinary Citizen, and the Salvation of the City Part 14 Part Three: Culture Chapter 15 Chapter 11. Gender and the City: Antigone from Hegel to Butler and Back Chapter 16 Chapter 12. The Comparative Politics of Travel: Theôria, Talab al-'Ilm and the Search for Knowledge Chapter 17 Chapter 13. Socrates, Palamedes, and the Trials of Philosophy Chapter 18 Chapter 14. Body, Soul, and Medical Analogy in Plato Chapter 19 Chapter 15. Men completely wild in appearance and way oflife: Fauns, Satyrs, Androgynes, Ichtyophages, Hippopodes, Sciopodes, Himantipodes, [and] Cyclopes Chapter 20 Chapter 16. Suppliant Women and the Democratic State: White Men Saving Brown Women from Brown Men
