Lexington Books Short Stories and Political Philosophy: Power, Prose, and Persuasion (Politics, Literature, & Film)

Short Stories and Political Philosophy: Power, Prose, and Persuasion explores the relationship between fictional short stories and the classic works of political philosophy. This edited volume addresses the innovative ways that short stories grapple with the same complex political and moral questions, concerns, and problems studied in the fields of political philosophy and ethics. The volume is designed to highlight the ways in which short stories may be used as an access point for the challenging works of political philosophy encountered in higher education. Each chapter analyzes a single story through the lens of thinkers ranging from Plato and Aristotle to Max Weber and Hannah Arendt. The contributors to this volume do not adhere to a single theme or intellectual tradition. Rather, this volume is a celebration of the intellectual and literary diversity available to students and teachers of political philosophy. It is a resource for scholars as well as educators who seek to incorporate short stories into their teaching practice. Review Short Stories and Political Philosophy reminds us of the age-old truth that stories are foundational in human life. Through stories we come to understand ourselves -- and our political condition. This book is a gem.--Susan McWilliams Barndt, Pomona CollegeThis is an excellent addition to the Series. . . All the essays are scholarly analyses based on a close reading of the stories, well written at a level accessible to undergraduates, thoughtful and imaginative in interpreting the stories and relating the questions they raise to the thinking of classical and contemporary philosophers as well as thinkers in other related fields, and accompanied by several pages of endnotes and comprehensive bibliographies. It is, in short, a very well-conceived and edited volume. . . . for anyone with an interest in using literature to investigate philosophical questions this is a book very much worth considering. . . The essays provide enough of food for thought to, ideally, stimulate the interest of undergraduates in both literature and philosophy.-- "VoegelinView"The use of literature in the discourse of political philosophy has a long and rich tradition. Dolgoy, Hale, and Peabody have added to that tradition in a unique fashion, by putting together and contributing to a remarkable collection of commentaries on short stories by, among others, William Faulkner, Wendell Berry, Ken Liu, and Shirley Jackson. The essays in this collection are wide ranging in thought, superbly related to traditional philosophical texts, and accompanied by excellent pedagogical advice. This volume will send political theorists to the book shelves looking to read the stories and, ultimately, to their classrooms to share what they have discovered.--Cecil L. Eubanks, Louisiana State University About the Author Erin A. Dolgoy is assistant professor of political science at Rhodes College. Kimberly Hurd Hale is assistant professor of politics at Coastal Carolina University. Bruce Peabody is professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson University.