Why is America again unjustly at war? Why is its politics distorted by wedge issues like abortion and gay marriage? Why is anti-Semitism still so powerfully resurgent? Such contradictions within democracies arise from a patriarchal psychology still alive in our personal and political lives in tension with the equal voice that is the basis of democracy. This book joins a psychological approach with a political-theoretical one that traces both this psychology (based on loss in intimate life) and resistance to it (based on the love of equals) to the Roman Republic and Empire and to three Latin masterpieces: Virgil's Aeneid, Apuleius's The Golden Ass, and Augustine's Confessions. In addition, this book explains many other aspects of our present situation including why movements of ethical resistance are often accompanied by a freeing of sexuality and why we are witnessing an aggressive fundamentalism at home and abroad.
Why is America again unjustly at war? Why is its politics distorted by wedge issues like abortion and gay marriage? Why is anti-Semitism still so powerfully resurgent? Such contradictions within democracies arise from a patriarchal psychology still alive in our personal and political lives in tension with the equal voice that is the basis of democracy. This book joins a psychological approach with a political-theoretical one that traces both this psychology (based on loss in intimate life) and resistance to it (based on the love of equals) to the Roman Republic and Empire and to three Latin masterpieces: Virgil's Aeneid, Apuleius's The Golden Ass, and Augustine's Confessions. In addition, this book explains many other aspects of our present situation including why movements of ethical resistance are often accompanied by a freeing of sexuality and why we are witnessing an aggressive fundamentalism at home and abroad.
Über den Autor
Carol Gilligan is the author of the groundbreaking book, In a Different Voice. In 1997 she became the first gender studies professor at Harvard and she now teaches at New York University. She has been awarded Spencer, Grawemeyer, and Heinz Awards and named one of the twenty-five most influential Americans by Time magazine. Recent works include The Birth of Pleasure, Kyra: A Novel, The Deepening Darkness, The Scarlet Letter (a play), Why Does Patriarchy Persist? (with Naomi Snider), and Darkness Now Visible (with David J. Richards).
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Introduction and overview; Part I. Roman Patriarchy: Entering the Heart of Darkness: 1. Why Rome? Why now?; 2. Roman patriarchy and violence; 3. Virgil on the darkness visible; 4. Apuleius on conversion; 5. Augustine on conversion; Part II. Resistance Across Time and Culture: 6. Resistance: religion; 7. Resistance: psychology; 8. Resistance: the artists; 9. Resistance: politics; Part III. Democracy's Future: 10. The contemporary scene; Conclusion.
