Founding Fictions
Author | : Jennifer R. Mercieca |
Publisher | : University of Alabama Press |
Total Pages | : 290 |
Release | : 2010-04-15 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780817316907 |
ISBN-13 | : 0817316906 |
Rating | : 4/5 (906 Downloads) |
Download or read book Founding Fictions written by Jennifer R. Mercieca and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2010-04-15 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An extended analysis of how Americans imagined themselves as citizens between 1764 and 1845 Founding Fictions develops the concept of a “political fiction,” or a narrative that people tell about their own political theories, and analyzes how republican and democratic fictions positioned American citizens as either romantic heroes, tragic victims, or ironic partisans. By re-telling the stories that Americans have told themselves about citizenship, Mercieca highlights an important contradiction in American political theory and practice: that national stability and active citizen participation are perceived as fundamentally at odds.