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E-book
Author Ritivoi, Andreea Deciu, 1970-

Title Intimate strangers : foreign intellectuals and American political discourse / Andreea Deciu Ritivoi
Published New York : Columbia University Press, 2014

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Description 1 online resource
Contents The stranger persona -- Hannah Arendt : the thinker and the American republic -- Herbert Marcuse's German revolution in America -- Cold war prophesies : Alexander Solzhenitsyn and mythological America -- Edward Said and the clash of identities -- Conclusion : friendship with strangers
Summary Hannah Arendt, Herbert Marcuse, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Edward Said each steered major intellectual and political schools of thought in American political discourse after World War II, yet none of them was American, which proved crucial to their ways of arguing and reasoning both in and out of the American context. In an effort to convince their audiences they were American enough, these thinkers deployed deft rhetorical strategies that made their cosmopolitanism feel acceptable, inspiring radical new approaches to longstanding problems in American politics. Speaking like natives, they also exploited their foreignness to entice listeners to embrace alternative modes of thought. Intimate Strangers unpacks this "stranger ethos," a blend of detachment and involvement that manifested in the persona of a prophet for Solzhenitsyn, an impartial observer for Arendt, a mentor for Marcuse, and a victim for Said. Yet despite its many successes, the stranger ethos did alienate many audiences, and critics continue to dismiss these thinkers not for their positions but because of their foreign point of view. This book encourages readers to reject this kind of critical xenophobia, throwing support behind a political discourse that accounts for the ideals of citizens and noncitizens alike
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Arendt, Hannah, 1906-1975 -- Influence
Marcuse, Herbert, 1898-1979 -- Influence
Solzhenit︠s︡yn, Aleksandr Isaevich, 1918-2008 -- Influence
Said, Edward W. -- Influence
Arendt, Hannah, 1906-1975
Marcuse, Herbert, 1898-1979
Said, Edward W.
Solzhenit︠s︡yn, Aleksandr Isaevich, 1918-2008
Politics and culture -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Intellectuals -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Rhetoric -- Political aspects -- United States -- History -- 20th century
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Essays.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Government -- General.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Government -- National.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Reference.
Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.)
Intellectual life
Intellectuals
Politics and culture
Rhetoric -- Political aspects
United States -- Intellectual life -- 20th century.
United States
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780231537919
0231537913