Mad Men

Sara MacDonald is professor in the Great Books Program at St. Thomas University.Andrew Moore is associate professor and director of the Great Books Program at St. Thomas University.

Editors Sara MacDonald and Andrew Moore have assembled a provocative and intriguing set of authors who situate the show as an important political text, with something to tell both scholars and fans about the evolution of the American ideals and idealism.... This volume will not only be of interest to fans of Mad Men and to scholars looking for ways to do this sort of interdisciplinary textual analysis, but it is also likely to provide those of us who teach political theory with a way to engage our students, via popular culture, with some of the enduring themes and classic dilemmas of our tradition. It is a welcome and intriguing addition to the scholarly canon of work on Matthew Weiner’s deserving and fascinating television series.

• Chapter 1: Mad Men and the End of History Chapter 2: Don Draper’s Life, His Liberty, and His Need for Happiness Chapter 3: Mad Men’s Selective Nostalgia and Uncertain Progress Chapter 4: Mastering the Infinite: Mad Men’s Poetic Modernity Chapter 5: “Just Like a Man Does”: Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Autonomy in Mad Men Chapter 6: Mad Men’s Tell-Tale Heart of Racism Chapter 7: Dante and Don Draper Share a Coke Chapter 8: Between Past and Future: Promises and Forgiveness in Mad Men