Catastrophic events like the bombing of Hiroshima, Hurricane Katrina's
devastation of New Orleans, and drone strikes periodically achieve
renewed political significance as subsequent developments summon them
back to public awareness. But why and how do different conceptions of
time inform and challenge these key events and the narratives they
create?
In this book, Michael J. Shapiro provides an approach to politics and
time that unsettles official collective histories by introducing
analyses of lived experience articulated in cinematic, televisual,
musical, and literary genres. His investigation is framed by questions
of our responsibility to acknowledge those victims of violence and
catastrophe who have failed to rise above the threshold of public
recognition. Ultimately, by focusing on time as an active force shaping
our conception of political life, we can deepen our understanding of
complex political dynamics and improve the theories and methods we rely
on to interpret them.
This bold and original book will be of interest to students and scholars
of political theory, cultural studies and cinema studies looking for a
new perspective on the temporal aspects of political life.
