Books by Anne Norton

Why "e;the Muslim question"e; is really about the West and its own anxieties-not IslamIn the post-9/11 West, there is no shortage of strident voices telling us that Islam is a threat to the security, values, way of life, and even existence of the United States and Europe. For better or worse, "e;the Muslim question"e; has become the great question of our time. It is a question bound up with others--about freedom of speech, terror, violence, human rights, women's dress, and sexuality. Above all, it is tied to the possibility of democracy. In this fearless, original, and surprising book, Anne Norton demolishes the notion that there is a "e;clash of civilizations"e; between the West and Islam. What is really in question, she argues, is the West's commitment to its own ideals: to democracy and the Enlightenment trinity of liberty, equality, and fraternity. In the most fundamental sense, the Muslim question is about the values not of Islamic, but of Western, civilization.Moving between the United States and Europe, Norton provides a fresh perspective on iconic controversies, from the Danish cartoon of Muhammad to the murder of Theo van Gogh. She examines the arguments of a wide range of thinkers--from John Rawls to Slavoj Zizek. And she describes vivid everyday examples of ordinary Muslims and non-Muslims who have accepted each other and built a common life together. Ultimately, Norton provides a new vision of a richer and more diverse democratic life in the West, one that makes room for Muslims rather than scapegoating them for the West's own anxieties.

Political scientist Anne Norton proposes 95 theses that launch a polemic against the reigning orthodoxies in her own field, and offers practical advice for students of politics, culture and method.

In Bloodrites of the Post-Structuralists provocative theorist Anne Norton presents an alternative narrative of the history of the world.

The teachings of political theorist Leo Strauss (18991973) have recently received new attention, as political observers have become aware of the influence Strausss students have had in shaping conservative agendas of the Bush administrationincluding the war on Iraq. This provocative book examines Strausss ideas and the ways in which they have been appropriated, or misappropriated, by senior policymakers.Anne Norton, a political theorist trained by some of Strausss most famous students, is well equipped to write on Strauss and Straussians. She tells three interwoven narratives: the story of Leo Strauss, a Jewish German-born migr, who carried European philosophy into a new world; the story of the philosophic lineage that came from Leo Strauss; and the story of how America has been made a moral battleground by the likes of Paul Wolfowitz, Leon Kass, Carnes Lord, and Irving KristolStraussian conservatives committed to an American imperialism they believe will usher in a new world order.