Brief History of the Masses

Stefan Jonsson is a writer and critic based in Stockholm, Sweden. He is associate professor of ethnic studies at the University of Linkoping and has been a fellow at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles and visiting professor at the University of Michigan. He is the author of Subject Without Nation: Robert Musil and the History of Modern Identity.

A compact yet comprehensive survey... Jonsson's globally wide-ranging and rich discussion raises important questions. Choice "From his detailed analyses of three monumental works of art, Stefan Jonsson constructs an erudite and elegant meditation on the developments of modern European art and literature, out of which emerges, throughout the course of the book, an intriguing and illuminating view of the possibilities of revolution and democracy that remain for us today. -- Michael Hardt

• List of Illustrations 1789: Jacques-Louis David, The Tennis Court Oath 1. Seizing the Floor 2. The Shadow of Democracy 3. The Number of People 4. The Swinish Multitude 5. Social Depths 6. The Hydra 7. Marianne 8. Les Miserables 9. The Barricade 10. Making Monkey 11. Smokescreens 12. Mass Grave 1889: James Ensor, Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889 13. The Crucified 14. The Belgian's Glory 15. Divorce 16. Hallucinations 17. Society Degree Zero 18. The Nigger 19. The Modern Breakthrough 20. Songs of the Fool 21. Homo Sacer 1989: Alfredo Jaar, They Loved It So Much, the Revolution 22. The Beloved 23. The Backside of the State 24. The Empty Throne 25. Political Violence 26. With Nails of Gold 27. Of Men and Beasts 28. Desperados 29. Autoimmunity 30. Saints 31. Complaints 32. The Baggage of the Barbarians 33. Departure Afterword Notes Index