Materializing Democracy

Russ Castronovo; Ed.

Description

For the most part, democracy is simply presumed to exist in the United States. It is viewed as a completed project rather than as a goal to be achieved. Fifteen leading scholars challenge that stasis in Materializing Democracy. They aim to reinvigorate the idea of democracy by placing it in the midst of a contentious political and cultural fray, which, the volume's editors argue, is exactly where it belongs. Drawing on literary criticism, cultural studies, history, legal studies, and political theory, the essays collected here highlight competing definitions and practices of democracy-in politics, society, and, indeed, academia.Covering topics ranging from rights discourse to Native American performance, from identity politics to gay marriage, and from rituals of public mourning to the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, the contributors seek to understand the practices, ideas, and material conditions that enable or foreclose democracy's possibilities. Through readings of subjects as diverse as Will Rogers, Alexis de Tocqueville, slave narratives, interactions along the Texas-Mexico border, and liberal arts education, the contributors also explore ways of making democracy available for analysis. Materializing Democracy suggests that attention to disparate narratives is integral to the development of more complex, vibrant versions of democracy.Contributors. Lauren Berlant, Wendy Brown, Chris Castiglia, Russ Castronovo, Joan Dayan, Wai Chee Dimock, Lisa Duggan, Richard R. Flores, Kevin Gaines, Jeffrey C. Goldfarb, Michael Moon, Dana D. Nelson, Christopher Newfield, Donald E. Pease

Sujets

• USA
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: Duke University Press
• Date de parution: 21 juin 2002
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780822383901
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

M A T E R I A L I Z I N G D E M O C R A C Y

n e w a m e r i c a n i s t s a s e r i e s e d i t e d b y d o n a l d e . p e a s e

M A T E R I A L I Z I N G D E M O C R A C Y

Toward a Revitalized Cultural Politics

Russ Castronovo and Dana D. Nelson, editors

B

D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S

Durham and London 2002

∫2002 Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper$ Typeset in Minion by Keystone Typesetting, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data appear on the last printed page of this book. Wendy Brown’s ‘‘Moralism As Antipolitics’’ originally appeared in a slightly di√erent form in her bookPolitics Out of History.Copy- right 2001 by Princeton University Press. Reprinted by permission of Princeton University Press. Wai Chee Dimock’s ‘‘Rethinking Space, Rethinking Rights: Litera- ture, Law, and Science’’ originally appeared in a slightly di√erent form inThe Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities10 (1998):487– 504 reprinted here by permission. An earlier version of Donald Pease’s ‘‘Tocqueville’s Democratic Thing; or, Aristocracy in America’’ originally appeared inboundary 226.3 (1999) 87–114. Lyrics to ‘‘Lida Rose’’ by Meredith Wilson∫1957 (renewed) Frank Music Corp. and Meredith Wilson Music. Lyrics to ‘‘The Sadder but Wiser Girl’’ by Meredith Wilson∫1957 (renewed) Frank Mu- sic Corp. and Meredith Wilson Music. All Rights Reserved.

C O N T E N T S

Acknowledgments ix

russ castronovo and dana d. nelson Introduction: Materializing Democracy and Other Political Fantasies 1

donald e. pease Tocqueville’s Democratic Thing; or, Aristocracy in America 22

joan dayan Legal Slaves and Civil Bodies 53

richard r. flores Mexicans in a Material World: From John Wayne’sThe Alamo to Stand-Up Democracy on the Border 95

russ castronovo Souls That Matter: Social Death and the Pedagogy of Democratic Citizenship 116

vi

Contents

lauren berlant Uncle Sam Needs a Wife: Citizenship and Denegation 144

lisa duggan The New Homonormativity: The Sexual Politics of Neoliberalism 175

chris castiglia The Genealogy of a Democratic Crush 195

dana d. nelson Representative/Democracy: The Political Work of Countersymbolic Representation 218

wai chee dimock Rethinking Space, Rethinking Rights: Literature, Law, and Science 248

michael moon A Long Foreground: Re-Materializing the History of Native American Relations to Mass Culture 267

kevin gaines From Center to Margin: Internationalism and the Origins of Black Feminism 294

christopher newfield Democratic Passions: Reconstructing Individual Agency 314

jeffrey c. goldfarb Anti-Ideology: Education and Politics as Democratic Practices 345

wendy brown Moralism as Antipolitics 368

Works Cited 393

Contributors 417

Index 421

Contents

vii

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

Part of the problem of democracy is that it often represses the materiality and historicity of dialogue, hierarchy, production, and a√ect that factor into its ideals and daily operation. This volume, in contrast, does not pretend to stand free and clear. Its publication as a material artifact, as a fetish object with pages, brings us back to the colleagues who inspired us with their support and by their example. Donald Pease encouraged this project in its infancy. Far beyond the essay to which he contributed to the volume, he lent us his guidance, friendship, and generosity. Wai Chee Dimock’s enthusiasm at the panel where we launched the idea behind this collection gave us the nerve for the project. At key moments, Amy Kaplan and Chris Castiglia asked searching questions that helped us to refine our goals in collecting a variegated set of approaches to thinking through, about, beyond, and even against democracy. Bob Levine and Priscilla Wald en- sured that our readings of democratic practice and thought never grew static. By debating our claims, conclusions, and methodologies, they imparted a rich and productive spirit of exchange to our e√orts. Ken Wissoker has been an invaluable friend and editor to have in our corner: without his insight and dedication to this project, these pages would have come much harder, if at all. Katie Courtland and Christine Habermaas boosted our morale and helped us to get our ducks into something that usually resembles a row. Finally: nothing without Tom Dillehay and Leslie Bow. What they o√er us every day in the way of support amounts to far more than we can compensate with our thanks here.