The Citizen´s Voice: Twentieth Century Politics and Literature

By Michael Keren

$24.95 sc
Available Now
ISBN 1-55238-113-7
200 pp.
5.5" x 8.5"

Political Theory/Literary Criticism

About the Book

Michael Keren traces the political lives and messages of some of the twentieth century´s greatest literary characters in this insightful and jargon-free book of literary criticism. Hans Castorp (Thomas Mann´s The Magic Mountain ), Joseph K. (Franz Kafka´s The Trial), John the Savage (Aldous Huxley´s Brave New World), Winston Smith (George Orwell´s 1984), Ralph (William Golding´s Lord of the Flies), Merusault (Albert Camus´s The Stranger), Ida Ramundo (Elsa Morante´s History), and Chauncey Gardiner (Jerzy Kosinski´s Being There) participate in ideological, technological, and organizational projects of the twentieth century. Keren observes these infamous charactersí behaviours and attitudes while they struggle through world wars, the rise and fall of totalitarianism, the Holocaust, the development of the atomic bomb, de-colonization, the Cold War, and globalization. By discussing their processes of self-reflection, Here is a refreshing contribution to civil society theory that makes a pioneering effort to cross the boundaries between politics, literature, and culture. A long-overdue study of the human condition via literature, The Citizen´s Voice expounds the key features of a “good citizen” while offering a perfect discussion piece for courses in political theory, politics and literature, and history.

About the Author

Michael Keren, an Israeli political theorist, currently holds a Canada Research Chair in Communication, Culture and Civil Society at the University of Calgary. He has written numerous books on politics, media, and human rights, most notably Zichroni v. State of Israel: The Biography of a Civil Rights Lawyer (2002).

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