Liberalism and the culture of security : the nineteenth-century rhetoric of reform / Katherine Henry.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Henry, Katherine, 1956-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--19th century--History and criticism.

American literature.

Politics and literature--United States--History--19th century.

Politics and literature.

Rhetoric--Political aspects--United States.

Rhetoric.

Liberalism in literature.

Liberalism--United States--History--19th century.

Liberalism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (232 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Figures of protection and security are everywhere in American public discourse, from the protection of privacy or civil liberties to the protection of marriage or the unborn, and from social security to homeland security. Liberalism and the Culture of Security traces a crucial paradox in historical and contemporary notions of citizenship: in a liberal democratic culture that imagines its citizens as self-reliant, autonomous, and inviolable, the truth is that claims for citizenship-particularly for marginalized groups such as women and slaves-have just as often been made in

Contents:

Introduction: the rhetoric of protection

Declarations of independence, claims of injury

Unmasking slavery: Angelina Grimké's rhetoric of exposure

Melting into speech : Frances E. W. Harper and the citizenship of the heart

The eloquent girl : liberal publicity and unprotected privacy in Henry James's The Bostonians.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-8173-8510-X

OCLC:

772459207