Sovereignty : seventeenth-century england and the making of the modern political imaginary / Feisal G. Mohamed.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mohamed, Feisal G. (Feisal Gharib), 1974- author.

Contributor:

A. H. Scouten Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Politics and literature--England--17th century.

Politics and literature.

England.

Physical Description:

viii, 220 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, [2020]

Summary:

This book argues that sovereignty is the first-order question of political order, and that seventeenth-century England provides an important case study in the roots of its modern iterations. It offers fresh readings of Thomas Hobbes, John Milton, and Andrew Marvell, as well as lesser-known figures and literary texts. In addition to political philosophy and literary studies, it also takes account of the period's legal history, exploring the exercise of the crown's feudal rights in the Court of Wards and Liveries, debates over habeas rights, and contests of various courts over jurisdiction. Theorizing sovereignty in a way that points forward to later modernity, the book also offers a sustained critique of the writings of Carl Schmitt, the twentieth century's most influential, if also most controversial, thinker on this topic.

Contents:

1 The Crown as Machine: Hobbes and Lord Saye p. 16

2 Provincializing Romance p. 56

3 Milton's Unitary Sovereignty p. 91

4 Marvell's Dread of the Sword p. 139.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the A. H. Scouten Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

9780198852131

0198852134

OCLC:

1112894819

Publisher Number:

99984217944