Platonic noise / J. Peter Euben.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Euben, J. Peter.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Greek literature--History and criticism.

Greek literature.

Politics and literature--United States--History--20th century.

Politics and literature.

American fiction--20th century--History and criticism.

American fiction.

Comparative literature--Greek and American.

Comparative literature.

Comparative literature--American and Greek.

Political science--Greece--Athens.

Political science.

American fiction--Greek influences.

Politics and literature--Greece.

Arendt, Hannah, 1906-1975. Human condition.

Arendt, Hannah.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (224 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Platonic Noise brings classical and contemporary writings into conversation to enrich our experience of modern life and politics. Drawing on writers as diverse as Plato, Homer, Nietzsche, Borges, Don DeLillo, and Philip Roth, Peter Euben shows us the relevance of both popular literature and ancient Greek thought to current questions of loss, mourning, and democracy--all while arguing for the redeeming qualities of political and intellectual work and making an original case against presentism. Juxtaposing ancient and contemporary texts, politics, and culture, Euben reflects on a remarkable range of recent issues and controversies. He discusses Stoic cosmopolitanism and globalization, takes a critical look at Nietzsche's own efforts to make the Greeks speak to the issues of his day, examines a Greek tragedy through Hannah Arendt's eyes, compares the role of comedy in ancient Athens and contemporary America, analyzes political theory as a reaction to an acute sense of loss, and considers questions of agency and morality. Platonic Noise makes a case for reading political theory and politics through literature. Working as much through example as through explicit argument, Euben casts the literary memory of Athenian democracy as a crucial cultural resource and a presence in contemporary political and theoretical debates. In so doing, he reasserts the moral value of what we used to call participatory democracy and the practical value of seeing ourselves with the help of insights from long-gone Greeks.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

I. Introduction

II. On the Uses and Disadvantages of Hellenic Studies for Political and Theoretical Life

III. Hannah Arendt at Colonus

IV. Aristophanes in America

V. The Politics of Nostalgia and Theories of Loss

VI. The Polis, Globalization, and the Citizenship of Place

VII. Platonic Noise

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [175]-199) and index.

ISBN:

9786612665707

9781282665705

1282665707

9781400825585

140082558X

OCLC:

655306308