The politics of small things : the power of the powerless in dark times / Jeffrey C. Goldfarb.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goldfarb, Jeffrey C.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political sociology.

Politics and culture.

Social interaction--Political aspects.

Social interaction.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (175 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Political change doesn't always begin with a bang; it often starts with just a whisper. From the discussions around kitchen tables that led to the dismantling of the Soviet bloc to the more recent emergence of Internet initiatives like MoveOn.org and Redeem the Vote that are revolutionizing the American political landscape, consequential political life develops in small spaces where dialogue generates political power. In The Politics of Small Things, Jeffrey Goldfarb provides an innovative way for understanding politics, a way of appreciating the significance of politics at the micro level by comparatively analyzing key turning points and institutions in recent history. He presents a sociology of human interactions that lead from small to large: dissent around the old Soviet bloc; life on the streets in Warsaw, Prague, and Bucharest in 1989; the network of terror that spawned 9/11; and the religious and Internet mobilizations that transformed the 2004 presidential election, to name a few. In such pivotal moments, he masterfully shows, political autonomy can be generated, presenting alternatives to the big politics of the global stage and the dominant narratives of terrorism, antiterrorism, and globalization.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: In the Shadow of Big Things

1. Theorizing the Kitchen Table and Other Small Things

2. 1968: Theater of Truth

3. 1989: New Definitions of the Situation

4. 2001: Narratives in Conflict

5. 2004: Small Things + the Internet = Alternatives

6. 2004: The Church, the Right, and the Politics of Small Things

7. Institutions: Democracy in the Details

8. The Presentation of Self in the Age of Electronic Communications

Conclusion: The Politics of the Politics of Small Things

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786611956875

9781281956873

1281956872

9780226301112

0226301117

OCLC:

309904287