Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Listen and read as much as you want
  • Over 400 000+ titles
  • Bestsellers in 10+ Indian languages
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • Easy to cancel anytime
Subscribe now
Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Comic Democracies: From Ancient Athens to the American Republic

Language
English
Format
Category

Non-Fiction

“Invites its readers to note the leaders and people who are willing and able to laugh, with and at themselves … Our political life may depend upon it. ” —The Review of Politics

For two thousand years, democratic authors treated comedy as a toolkit of rhetorical practices for encouraging problem-solving, pluralism, risk-taking, and other civic behaviors that increased minority participation in government. Over the past two centuries, this pragmatic approach to extending the franchise has been displaced by more idealistic democratic philosophies that focus instead on promoting liberal principles and human rights. But in the wake of the recent “democracy recession” in the Middle East, the Third World, and the West itself, there has been renewed interest in finding practical sources of popular rule. Comic Democracies joins in the search by exploring the value of the old comic tools for growing democracy today.

Drawing on new empirical research from the political and cognitive sciences, Angus Fletcher deftly analyzes the narrative elements of two dozen stage plays, novels, romances, histories, and operas written by such authors as Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus, Ariosto, Machiavelli, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, William Congreve, John Gay, Henry Fielding, and Washington Irving. He unearths five comic techniques used to foster democratic behaviors in antiquity and the Renaissance, then traces the role of these techniques in Tom Paine’s Common Sense, Jefferson’s preamble to the Declaration of Independence, Washington’s farewell address, Mercy Otis Warren’s federalist history of the Revolution, Frederick Douglass’s abolitionist orations, and other documents that played a pivotal role in the development of the American Republic.

After recovering these lost chapters of our democratic past, Comic Democracies concludes with a draft for the future, using the old methods of comedy to envision a modern democracy—rooted in the diversity, ingenuity, and power of popular art.

“Fletcher’s main theory is convincing and will open up new fields of inquiry. This accessible work is for those interested in political science, cultural history, and comic theory as well as classical literature.” —Choice

© 2016 Johns Hopkins University Press (Ebook): 9781421419350

Release date

Ebook: 5 June 2016

Others also enjoyed ...

  1. Free Will Sam Harris
  2. Lady Windermere's Fan Oscar Wilde
  3. The Hidden Tools of Comedy: The Serious Business of Being Funny Steve Kaplan
  4. Degenerations of Democracy Charles Taylor
  5. The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot Russell Kirk
  6. The Mystery of Charles Dickens A.N. Wilson
  7. The Anatomy of Fascism Robert O. Paxton
  8. The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century Helena Rosenblatt
  9. Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism Richard D. Wolff
  10. Hollywood: The Oral History Sam Wasson
  11. Classics: A Very Short Introduction Mary Beard
  12. The Thomas Sowell Reader Thomas Sowell
  13. Mantel Pieces: Royal Bodies and Other Writing from the London Review of Books Hilary Mantel
  14. The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination Ursula K. Le Guin
  15. Why Nationalism Yael Tamir
  16. Genius and Ink: Virginia Woolf on How to Read Virginia Woolf
  17. Nationalism, Marxism, and Modern Central Europe: A Biography of Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz, 1872-1905 Timothy Snyder
  18. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin
  19. The Histories Herodotus
  20. Closing the Shop: Information Cartels and Japan's Mass Media Laurie Anne Freeman
  21. Thud! Terry Pratchett
  22. What to Read and Why Francine Prose
  23. Swedish Film: An Introduction and Reader Johan Nilsson
  24. Writing Articles About the World Around You Marcia Yudkin
  25. The Fundamentals of Watercolour Painting: A Complete Course in Techniques, Subjects and Styles Keith Fenwick
  26. The Craft of Scene Writing: Beat by Beat to a Better Script Jim Mercurio
  27. Working in America: The Best of Studs Terkel's Working Tapes Studs Terkel
  28. The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction Neil Gaiman
  29. The Art of Sketching: A Step by Step Guide Vivienne Coleman
  30. Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them Francine Prose
  31. Medieval Mysteries: The History Behind the Myths of the Middle Ages Thomas F. Madden
  32. Painting Flowers: Create Beautiful Watercolour Artworks With This Step-by-Step Guide Jill Winch
  33. Living Planet: The Web of Life on Earth David Attenborough
  34. Benjamin Franklin Walter Isaacson
  35. Pachinko Min Jin Lee
  36. A Little History of Economics Niall Kishtainy
  37. Stein on Writing Sol Stein
  38. On Writing Volume 1 Roberta Gellis
  39. Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life Peter Godfrey-Smith
  40. Under the Sign of Saturn: Essays Susan Sontag