Description
Leading off the proceedings with a poem from anti-war activist and Catholic priest Daniel Berrigan, this special issue of the South Atlantic Quarterly , devoted to religious understandings of the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, doesn't shy away from controversy in this era of "you're with us or against us." Edited by Hauerwas (theological ethics, Duke Divinity School) and Lentricchia (literature, Duke U.) the Quaterly feature commentary by such writers as Jean Baudrillard, Wendell Berry, and others that fearlessly some of the fundamental assumptions the United States has made in its flag waving, its demonization of John Walker Lindh, and its general reaction to the horrific crimes of September 11th. The publisher predicts that this issue will lead to the most controversy since the 1903 issue tackling the American racism. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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Dissent from the Homeland begins a new evaluation of how Americans think about September 11, 2001 and its aftermath. In this special issue well-known writers and scholars from across the humanities and social sciences take a critical look at U.S. domestic and foreign policies'past and present'as well as the recent surge of patriotism. These dissenting voices provide a thought-provoking alternative to the apparently overwhelming public approval of the U.S. military response to the September 11 attacks. Addressing such questions as why the Middle East harbors a deep-seated hatred for the U.S., the contributors refuse to settle for the easy answers preferred by the mass media. "Thoughts in the Presence of Fear" urges Americans away from the pitfall of national self-righteousness toward an active peaceableness'an alert, informed, practiced state of being'deeply contrary to both passivity and war. Another essay argues that the U.S. drive to win the Cold War made the nation more like its enemies, leading the government to support ruthless anti-Communist tyrants such as Mobutu, Suharto, and Pinochet. "Groundzeroland" offers a sharp commentary on the power of American consumer culture to absorb the devastation and loss of life by transforming the attack sites into patriotic tourist attractions. James Nachtwey's photo essay provides a visual document of the devastation of the attacks.Contributors. Michael Baxter, Jean Baudrillard, Robert Bellah, Daniel Berrigan, Wendell Berry, Vincent Cornell, Stanley Hauerwas, Fredric Jameson, Frank Lentricchia, Catherine Lutz, Jody McAuliffe, John Milbank, James Nachtwey, Peter Ochs, Anne Rosalind Slifkin, Rowan Williams, Susan Willis, Slavoj ZizekFor more information about SAQ, please visit http://www.dukeupress.edu/saq/
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