Intimate strangers : Arendt, Marcuse, Solzhenitsyn, and Said in American political discourse / Andreea Deciu Ritivoi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ritivoi, Andreea Deciu, 1970- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Arendt, Hannah, 1906-1975--Influence.

Marcuse, Herbert, 1898-1979--Influence.

Said, Edward W--Influence.

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

Intellectuals--United States--History--20th century.

Rhetoric--Political aspects--United States--History--20th century.

United States--Intellectual life--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (319 p.)

Edition:

Pilot project. eBook available to selected US libraries only

Place of Publication:

New York, New York ; West Sussex, England : Columbia University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Hannah Arendt, Herbert Marcuse, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Edward Said each steered major intellectual and political schools of thought in American political discourse after World War II, yet none of them was American, which proved crucial to their ways of arguing and reasoning both in and out of the American context. In an effort to convince their audiences they were American enough, these thinkers deployed deft rhetorical strategies that made their cosmopolitanism feel acceptable, inspiring radical new approaches to longstanding problems in American politics. Speaking like natives, they also exploited their foreignness to entice listeners to embrace alternative modes of thought. Intimate Strangers unpacks this "stranger ethos," a blend of detachment and involvement that manifested in the persona of a prophet for Solzhenitsyn, an impartial observer for Arendt, a mentor for Marcuse, and a victim for Said. Yet despite its many successes, the stranger ethos did alienate many audiences, and critics continue to dismiss these thinkers not for their positions but because of their foreign point of view. This book encourages readers to reject this kind of critical xenophobia, throwing support behind a political discourse that accounts for the ideals of citizens and noncitizens alike.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION

1. THE STRANGER PERSONA

2. HANNAH ARENDT: THE THINKER AND THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC

3. HERBERT MARCUSE'S GERMAN REVOLUTION IN AMERICA

4. COLD WAR PROPHESIES: ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN AND MYTHOLOGICAL AMERICA

5. EDWARD SAID AND THE CLASH OF IDENTITIES

CONCLUSION

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780231537919

0231537913

OCLC:

890676063