Republic of Readers?

Simon Stow is Assistant Professor of Government at the College of William and Mary.

"Stow … meticulously analyses the main claims of the authors and thereby provides us with a valuable companion to their works … Stow's criticism of the four scholars is hard to refute and allows one to hope for a response by those who are attacked." — Political Studies Review"Stow tackles a central issue and addresses it in a convincing and original way. He covers a wide range of materials and yet cuts through the thicket with keen arguments and key distinctions. The politics of the literary turn is a hugely important topic, and part of the significance of this work is that it groups together many of the most important 'postfoundational' theorists as belonging to that movement." — John E. Seery, author of America Goes to College: Political Theory for the Liberal Arts"Riveting and provocative, this book will interest political theorists, literary critics, and public intellectuals alike." — Cyrus Ernesto Zirakzadeh, author of Social Movements in Politics: A Comparative Study, Expanded Edition

• Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1  Theoretical Foundations 1. Arguments and Readings: Philosophy in a Postfoundational World Part 2  The Literary Turn in Thought and Practice 2. Martha Nussbaum: Literary Imagination and the Public Life 3. Richard Rorty: Non-Philosopher Kings and the Literary Republic 4. Terry Eagleton: Is There a Class in This Text? Literary Criticism and Social Theory 5. Judith Butler: Politics, Literature, and Radical Democracy Part 3  The Future of the Literary Turn? 6. How to Read a Novel in a Democracy: Literature and Public Ethics 7. Beyond the Dolorous Haze: Literature in Political Thought and Analysis 8. Conclusion: The Literary Turn and Contemporary Political Discourse NotesIndex