Surging Democracy: Notes on Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought

Adriana Cavarero

Published by Stanford University Press 2021

Surging Democracy

Notes on Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought

Adriana Cavarero

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503628144

Overview
Contents

About this book

What does a truly democratic experience of political action look like today? In this provocative new work, Adriana Cavarero weighs in on contemporary debates about the relationship between democracy, happiness, and dissent. Drawing on Arendt's understanding of politics as a participatory experience, but also discussing texts by Émile Zola, Elias Canetti, Boris Pasternak, and Roland Barthes, along with engaging Judith Butler, Cavarero proposes a new view of democracy, based not on violence, but rather on the spontaneous experience of a plurality of bodies coming together in public. Expanding on the themes explored in previous works, Cavarero offers a timely intervention into current thinking about the nature of democracy, suggesting that its emergence thrives on the nonviolent creativity of a widespread, participatory, and relational power that is shared horizontally rather than vertically. From digital democracy to selfies to contemporary protest movements, Cavarero argues that we need to rethink our focus on individual happiness and turn toward rediscovering the joyful emotions of birth through plural interaction. Yes, let us be happy, she urges, but let us do so publicly, politically, together.

Author / Editor information

Adriana Cavarero is author of For More Than One Voice: Toward a Philosophy of Vocal Expression (Stanford, 2005) and Inclinations: A Critique of Rectitude (2016). Her other titles in English include Horrorism: Naming Contemporary Violence (Stanford, 2008), and Thou Shalt Not Kill: A Political and Theological Dialogue (2015).

Reviews

Silvia Benso:
"Adriana Cavarero gives us an inspiring vision of what democracy might mean if we stay true to the Arendtian spirit of identifying a space where individualities can flourish in their togetherness—ultimately, a space of public happiness."

Barbara Spackman:
"Adriana Cavarero's characteristically provocative new work is once again central to debates about the nature of democracy. As always, her writing is striking for its clarity and economy."

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface to the English Edition Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
QUARTET Surging Democracy
1 The Idea of Democracy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
2 Plurality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	15
3 Public Happiness Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	30
4 Political Squares Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	45
DUO Political Phonospheres
5 The Voice of the Masses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	59
6 The Voice of Plurality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	72
SCHERZO Crowds with a Cellphone
7 Crowds with a Cellphone Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	97
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109

Language: English
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 136
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 1

eBook

Published: August 31, 2021
ISBN: 9781503628144