Authority: Construction and Corrosion

Authority: Construction and Corrosion
ISBN-10
0226481972
ISBN-13
9780226481975
Series
Authority
Category
Architecture
Pages
252
Language
English
Published
1994
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Author
Bruce Lincoln

Description

Employing examples drawn from classical antiquity, medieval Scandinavian law, Cold War scholarship, and American presidential politics, Lincoln offers a telling analysis of the performance of authority, and subversions of it, from ancient times to the present. Using a small set of case studies that highlight critical moments in the construction of authority, he goes on to offer a general examination of "corrosive" discourses such as gossip, rumor, and curses; the problematic situation of women, who often are barred from the authorizing sphere; the changing role of religion in the construction of authority; the question of whether authority in the modern and postmodern world differs from its pre-modern counterpart; and a critique of Hannah Arendt's claims that authority has disappeared from political life in the modern world.

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