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The dissonance of democracy : listening, conflict, and citizenship
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The dissonance of democracy : listening, conflict, and citizenship

Author: Susan Bickford
Publisher: Ithaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, 1996.
Edition/Format:   Book : EnglishView all editions and formats
Summary:
Although the role of shared speech in political action has received much theoretical attention, too little thought has focused on the practice of listening in political interaction, according to Susan Bickford. Even in a formally democratic polity, political action occurs in a context of conflict and inequality; thus, the shared speech of citizenship differs significantly from the conversations of friendly  Read more...
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Details

Document Type: Book
All Authors / Contributors: Susan Bickford
ISBN: 0801483778 9780801483776 0801432197 9780801432194
OCLC Number: 34943300
Description: xi, 204 p. ; 22 cm.
Contents: 1. Listening, Conflict, and Citizenship --
2. Beyond Friendship: Aristotle on Conflict, Deliberation, and Attention --
3. Where We Listen and Are Listened To: Hannah Arendt on Plurality and Public Appearance --
4. "The Genuine Conditions of Our Lives": Feminist Theorizing and Political Action --
5. Listening and Action: Reconstituting the Intersubjective World.
Responsibility: Susan Bickford.

Abstract:

Although the role of shared speech in political action has received much theoretical attention, too little thought has focused on the practice of listening in political interaction, according to Susan Bickford. Even in a formally democratic polity, political action occurs in a context of conflict and inequality; thus, the shared speech of citizenship differs significantly from the conversations of friendly associates. Bickford suggests that democratic politics requires a particular quality of attention, one not based on care or friendship. Analyzing specifically political listening is central to the development of democratic theory, she contends, and to envisioning democratic practices for contemporary society. Bickford's analysis draws on the work of Aristotle and of Hannah Arendt to establish the conflictual and contentious character of politics. To analyze the social forces that deflect attention from particular voices, Bickford mobilizes contemporary feminist theory, including Gloria Anzaldua's work on the connection between identity and politics. She develops a conception of citizen interaction characterized by adversarial communication in a context of inequality. Such a conception posits public identity - and hence public listening - as active and creative, and grounded in particular social and political contexts.

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