Politics of Fear, Practices of Hope
Ebook
Politics of Fear, Practices of Hope is about the relationship between two hugely influential ideas in political life: fear and hope. How are cultures of resistance nurtured within an environment of paranoia and social paralysis? Stefan Skrimshire argues that grass-roots responses to a politics of fear coincide with an explosion of interest in the quasi-religious themes of apocalypse, eschatology and utopia in cultural life. Where visions of a better future are replaced by the acceptance of a fearful present - a state of 'war with no end' - this is an important examination of the beliefs that underpin our capacity to hope.
Readers of contemporary popular culture and terror will obtain a greater appreciation of the religious roots of apocalyptic discourses.
Will equip readers of theology and religious studies with an account of the political function of theological concepts of hope and utopia.
Part of the new Continuum Studies in Religion and Political Culture series, edited by Graham Ward and Michael Hoelzl.
Contributes to the growing literature on a ‘politics of fear’ with a unique perspective of popular responses currently operative in protest cultures.
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Introduction
Part 1 Politics of Fantasy
Chapter 2: Post-Democracy and the War on Terror
Chapter 3: From Fear to Desire
Chapter 4: Accidents Waiting to Happen
Part 2 Politics of Imagination
Chapter 5: Utopia: Radical Imagination
Chapter 6: Eschatology: Radical Waiting
Chapter 7: Apocalypse: Radical Seeing
Part 3 Experiments in Hope
Chapter 8: The Performance of Dissent
Chapter 9: How to be Common
Chapter 10: Bodies of Resistance
Chapter 11: Conclusion
Bibliography
"This is an excellent analysis of the myriad ways in which fear stifles political imagination, while hope liberates from apocalyptic fantasy. Skrimshire's book is at once accessible, engaged and learned, and weaves together activist practices with political theology to give an enriched account of each." - Professor Philip Goodchild, University of Nottingham, UK
Publication mentioned in Red Pepper, June 2008
'[Skrimshire] makes strenuous efforts to signpost and summarise, and the thesis comes complete with enlivening examples.' Alex Danchev, Times Higher Education Supplement, March 2009
"Skrimshire's erudite combination of critical theory, theology, and analysis of current events deftly weaves difficult and diverse materials into a thoughtful, coherent, and insightful work." Religious Studies Review, Vol. 35, No. 4, December 2009
- Title: Politics of Fear, Practices of Hope
- Author: Stefan Skrimshire
- Publisher: Continuum
- Print Publication Date: 2011
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781441187888, 9781441154149, 1441154140, 144118788X
- Resource ID: LLS:9781441187888
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-05-13T23:59:57Z
Stefan Skrimshire is a postdoctoral research associate in philosophy of religion at The University of Manchester, UK.