Books in the Politics, Literature, & Film series

Sinclair Lewis was one of the most astute observers of American social and political life. Sinclair Lewis and American Democracy is a highly readable analysis of his novels. The book examines each of Lewis's novels on key themes in the history of political thought and democracy including freedom and purpose, success and materialism, and nationalism and race. Lewis is revealed to be an unapologetic individualist and a fierce humanitarian.

Milton's Socratic Rationalism focuses on the influence of Milton's years of private study of classical authors, chiefly Plato, Xenophon and Aristotle, on Paradise Lost. It examines the conversations of Adam and Eve as a mode of discourse closely aligned to practices of Socrates in the dialogues of Plato and eponymous discourses of Xenophon.

Walker Percy and the Politics of the Wayfarer is the first sustained treatment of Percy as a political thinker. The book argues that Percy provides a distinctive approach to politics, one that might allow us to give up the dangerous longing for limitless progress and perfection in our lives.

This book offers a combined historical and aesthetic analysis of five novels from Philip Roth's later career. It reads these works in the context of political, cultural, and literary developments in America from the New Deal to the present.

Reality is made up of absolute and casualty ideals. This book analyzes the lower aspects of absolute ideals that result in personal and social dysfunction and the ultimate end of civilization. Conversely, a society based on casualty and justice is stable and vibrant. It is a classless society, free of gender and ethnic biases.

This history of the early American film industry identifies key political aspects in the rise of the classical Hollywood system. It uniquely identifies and explores the political development of American film that shows how movies shaped political culture and consumer capitalism in the twentieth century.

The Declaration of Independence claims that individuals need liberty to pursue happiness, but provides little guidance on the ';what' of happiness. Happiness studies and liberal theory are incomplete guides. Happiness studies offer insights into what makes people happy but happiness policy risks becoming doctrinaire. Liberal theory is better on personal liberty, but weak on the ';what' of happiness. My argument is that American novelists are surer guides on the pursuit of happiness. Treated as political thinkers, my book offers a close reading of four American novelists, Tom Wolfe, Walker Percy, Edith Wharton, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, and their critique of the pursuit of happiness. With a critical and friendly eye, they present the shortcomings of pursuing happiness in a liberal nation but also present alternatives and correctives possible in America. Our novelists point us toward each other in friendship as our greatest resource to guide us towards happiness.

This book examines the intersection of fictional narratives and political philosophy, focusing specifically on the use of short stories to teach the classic works of political philosophy. It is a resource for scholars and teachers of politics, philosophy, and literature.

This book looks at why Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is either the most inspirational or the cruelest film American cinema has ever produced. It depicts, perhaps unwittingly, an ontological war in which two well-matched adversaries fight a series of pitched battles that neither side can win without producing tragic remainders.

The strange and wonderful place of Twin Peaks captivated audiences for more than two decades before its long-awaited return to television in 2017. In this edited collection, the authors approach Twin Peaks from a variety of perspectives with the concept of the political at its center.

This book revisits representations of AIDS in the 1980s in the U.S. in order to highlight a discourse of trauma and witness that emerged in the wake of a crisis. The book also emphasizes the potential of literary language to call attention to historical trauma where other discourses may fail.

Updike & Politics presents the first collection of essays devoted to the political aspects of Updike's work and showcases a variety of international perspectives.

Lights, Camera, Execution! engages in detailed critical analysis of nine different films about capital punishment in the United States. It examines well-known movies from the last thirty years; explores the cinematic techniques used; and identifies common themes such as race and human dignity.

This book analyzes works of late 20th century literature to unearth themes related to western classical liberal societies. The analysis suggests new ways of thinking about building political philosophies capable of replacing the classical liberal model.