Postmodern Approaches to the History of Political Thought

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Foa Dienstag
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Leo Strauss ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1950S

This article describes the postmodern approach to the history of political thought that has evolved through the practices of a variety of theorists in both Europe and the United States since the 1950s. It maintains that Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy is the originating point of this movement, although neither he nor any of the other theorists it mentions left any canonical statements of methods to compare with the works of Quentin Skinner or Leo Strauss. Terms such as “deconstruction,” “genealogy,” and “radical hermeneutics” are often used to describe these methods. At the broadest level, the postmodern approach displays an acute sensitivity to the role of language in politics, and in political theory itself, that originates in the work of Nietzsche. While postmodernism is nothing if not a congeries of method, this article argues that these diverse approaches have, if not a unity, than at least common sources and overlapping themes.

Re-Telling the History of Political Thought

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-49
Author(s):  
Katherine H. Bullock
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Philosophical Thinking ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
Proper Role ◽  
History Of

This paper explores the construction of the canon of political theory. I argue that the interpretation of the canon that defines ancient pagan Greeks as the founders of western political thought, includes medieval Christian thinkers, and yet defines out Muslim and Jewish philosophers is based upon western eth­nocentric secular assumptions about the proper role of reason, experience and revelation in philosophical thinking.

Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Emily Klancher Merchant
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
The United States ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
The Other ◽  
Reproductive Justice ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

The introduction situates Building the Population Bomb’s historical narrative in the context of current debates over whether the world’s population is growing too quickly or not quickly enough, and over what should be done about it. It lays out two positions—moderate and extreme—and explains that, rather than taking one side or the other, the book tells the story of how these positions emerged in tandem between the 1920s and the 1970s. It contends that population growth has been unfairly blamed for many of the world’s problems, and promises to explain how this happened and who has benefited from it. The introduction describes how Building the Population Bomb contributes to the history of the social sciences, furthers our understanding of the role of the United States in promoting global development in the second half of the twentieth century, and advances the contemporary project of reproductive justice.

scholarly journals The Public Opinion In The Modern History Of Political Thought According To Jurgen Habermas

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 234
Author(s):  
Enkelejda Hamzaj
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
The Other ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
History Of ◽  
Modern Era

Is not easy to make in a few lines a presentation of Habermas's thinking regarding to public opinion in the history of political thought. One of the most interesting sections of all habermasian discussion – developed not only in his opera History and critiques of public opinion but in others too – lies in clarifying how the public opinion concept was evaluate by philosophers of different political orientations during the modern era. According to Habermas, to do this analysis should go under the tracks of Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant and Hegel. Some of these authors appreciate and value the role of the public opinion while others do not believe in its function. It is not a coincidence that the"classic" treatment of the public opinion concept culminates with Kant, the author, who is considered one of the greatest luminaries in Europe. While we find in Hegel a devaluation of the public opinion, compared with the science, and this depreciation is parallel to the depreciation of the civil society against the State. On the other side we will see other contemporary authors analysis regarding public opinion, like Nicola Matteuci and Giuseppe Bedeschi and their thoughts compared with Habermas thoughts. To understand the function of public opinion I will show its specific characteristics throughout history from the Greek polis up to the French Revolution and the creation of the bourgeoisie class.

A Virtue for Courageous Minds

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurelian Craiutu
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Moral Virtue ◽  
Individual Liberty ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
Common Notion ◽  
History Of ◽  
Benjamin Constant ◽  
Intellectual Foundations

Political moderation is the touchstone of democracy, which could not function without compromise and bargaining, yet it is one of the most understudied concepts in political theory. How can we explain this striking paradox? Why do we often underestimate the virtue of moderation? Seeking to answer these questions, this book examines moderation in modern French political thought and sheds light on the French Revolution and its legacy. The book begins with classical thinkers who extolled the virtues of a moderate approach to politics, such as Aristotle and Cicero. It then shows how Montesquieu inaugurated the modern rebirth of this tradition by laying the intellectual foundations for moderate government. The book looks at important figures such as Jacques Necker, Germaine de Staël, and Benjamin Constant, not only in the context of revolutionary France but throughout Europe. It traces how moderation evolves from an individual moral virtue into a set of institutional arrangements calculated to protect individual liberty, and explores the deep affinity between political moderation and constitutional complexity. The book demonstrates how moderation navigates between political extremes, and it challenges the common notion that moderation is an essentially conservative virtue, stressing instead its eclectic nature. Drawing on a broad range of writings in political theory, the history of political thought, philosophy, and law, the book reveals how the virtue of political moderation can address the profound complexities of the world today.

The Setting

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolette D. Manglos-Weber
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
The United States ◽  
Evangelical Christianity ◽  
Interracial Relations ◽  
Personal Trust ◽  
Conceptual Background ◽  
History Of ◽  
Role Of Religion

This chapter presents the historical and conceptual background to the book’s argument. It starts with a history of Ghana, followed by an analysis of the trends that have led to high levels of out-migration, and then to a description of Ghanaian populations in Chicago. Next, it addresses the concept of social trust in general and personal trust in particular, developing a theory of personal trust as an imaginative and symbolic activity, and analyzing interracial relations through the lens of racialized distrust. It concludes by describing the role of religion in the integration of immigrant groups into the United States and the particular religious frameworks that characterize Charismatic Evangelical Christianity in Ghana.

scholarly journals How Should We Categorize Approaches to the History of Political Thought?

2020 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-114
Author(s):  
Adrian Blau
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Framework

AbstractThis paper proposes a new framework for categorizing approaches to the history of political thought. Previous categorizations exclude much research; political theory, if included, is often caricatured. And previous categorizations are one-dimensional, presenting different approaches as alternatives. My framework is two-dimensional, distinguishing six kinds of end (two empirical, four theoretical) and six kinds of means. Importantly, these choices are not alternatives: studies may have more than one end and typically use several means. Studies with different ends often use some of the same means. And all studies straddle the supposed empirical/theoretical “divide.” Quentin Skinner himself expertly combines empirical and theoretical analysis—yet the latter is often overlooked, not least because of Skinner's own methodological pronouncements. This highlights a curious disjuncture in methodological writings, between what they say we do, and what we should do. What we should do is much broader than existing categorizations imply.

Roger Boesche: The Strange Liberalism of Alexis de Tocqueville

1988 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 419-422
Author(s):  
James Schleifer
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
History Of Ideas ◽  
Alexis De Tocqueville ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
History Of

Roger Boesche, Chair of the Department of Political Science at Occidental College in Los Angeles, lias already written several thoughtful articles about Tocqueville, each marked by clarity of thought and expression: ’The Prison: Tocqueville’s Model for Despotism,” Western Political Quarterly 33 (December 1980):550-63; “The Strange Liberalism of Alexis de Tocqueville,” History of Political Thought 2 (Winter 1981): 495-524; “Why Could Tocqueville Predict So Well?” Political Theory 11 (February 1983): 79-104; “Tocqueville and Le Commerce’. A Newspaper Expressing His Unusual Liberalism,” Journal of the History of Ideas 44 (April-June 1983): 277-92; and “Hedonism and Nihilism: The Predictions of Tocqueville and Nietzsche,” The Tocqueville Review 8 (1986/87): 165-84.

Univision, Telemundo, and the Rise of Spanish-Language Television in the United States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Allen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mass Communication ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
History Of ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
American Society ◽  
The U.S

The first completely researched history of U.S. Spanish-language television traces the rise of two foremost, if widely unrecognized, modern American enterprises—the Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo. It is a standard scholarly history constructed from archives, original interviews, reportage, and other public materials. Occasioned by the public’s wakening to a “Latinization” of the U.S., the book demonstrates that the emergence of Spanish-language television as a force in mass communication is essential to understanding the increasing role of Latinos and Latino affairs in modern American society. It argues that a combination of foreign and domestic entrepreneurs and innovators who overcame large odds resolves a significant and timely question: In an English-speaking country, how could a Spanish-speaking institution have emerged? Through exploration of significant and colorful pioneers, continuing conflicts and setbacks, landmark strides, and ongoing controversies—and with revelations that include regulatory indecision, behind-the-scenes tug-of-war, and the internationalization of U.S. mass media—the rise of a Spanish-language institution in the English-speaking U.S. is explained. Nine chapters that begin with Spanish-language television’s inception in 1961 and end 2012 chronologically narrate the endeavor’s first 50 years. Events, passages, and themes are thoroughly referenced.

The History of Occupational Therapy Assistants in Canada: A Comparison with the United States

2001 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny Salvatori
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Professional Associations ◽  
Training Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Professional Affiliation ◽  
Standards Of Practice ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Training

In the middle of the twentieth century, the role of occupational therapy assistant was introduced in North America. Although the role, utilization and training of assistant personnel have raised much controversy and debate within the profession, Canada and the United States have taken very different paths in terms of dealing with these issues. This paper focuses on the history of occupational therapy assistants in Canada, using the experience in the United States for comparison purposes. The occupational therapy literature and official documents of the professional associations are used to present a chronology of major historical events in both countries. Similarities and differences emerge in relation to historical roots; training model and standards of education; certification, regulation, and standards of practice; career laddering and career mobility; and professional affiliation. The paper concludes with a summary of issues which require further exploration, debate and resolution if the profession is to move forward in Canada.

The Feminization of Etiquette Literature: Foucault, Mechanisms of Social Change, and the Paradoxes of Empowerment

1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Arditi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Change ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Discursive Space ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Space ◽  
The 19Th Century

This paper explores the opening of a discursive space within the etiquette literature in the United States during the 19th century and how women used this space as a vehicle of empowerment. It identifies two major strategies of empowerment. First, the use or appropriation of existing discourses that can help redefine the “other” within an hegemonic space. Second, and more importantly, the transformation of that space in shifting the lines by which differentiation is produced to begin with. Admittedly, these strategies are neither unique nor the most important in the history of women's empowerment. But this paper argues that the new discourses formulated by women helped forge a new space within which women ceased being the “other,” and helped give body to a concept of womanhood as defined by a group of women, regardless of how idiosyncratic that group might have been.

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