A Brief History of the Masses: Three Revolutions (Columbia Themes in Philosophy, Social Criticism, and the Arts)

Stefan Jonsson uses three monumental works of art to build a provocative history of popular revolt: Jacques-Louis David's __The Tennis Court Oath__ (1791), James Ensor's __Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889__ (1888), and Alfredo Jaar's __They Loved It So Much, the Revolution__ (1989). Addressing, respectively, the French Revolution of 1789, Belgium's proletarian messianism in the 1880s, and the worldwide rebellions and revolutions of 1968, these canonical images not only depict an alternative view of history but offer a new understanding of the relationship between art and politics and the revolutionary nature of true democracy. Drawing on examples from literature, politics, philosophy, and other works of art, Jonsson carefully constructs his portrait, revealing surprising parallels between the political representation of "the people" in government and their aesthetic representation in painting. Both essentially "frame" the people, Jonsson argues, defining them as elites or masses, responsible citizens or angry mobs. Yet in the aesthetic fantasies of David, Ensor, and Jaar, Jonsson finds a different understanding of democracy-one in which human collectives break the frame and enter the picture. Connecting the achievements and failures of past revolutions to current political issues, Jonsson then situates our present moment in a long historical drama of popular unrest, making his book both a cultural history and a contemporary discussion about the fate of democracy in our globalized world.

Stefan Jonsson uses three monumental works of art to build a provocative history of popular revolt: Jacques-Louis David's The Tennis Court Oath (1791), James Ensor's Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889 (1888), and Alfredo Jaar's They Loved It So Much, the Revolution (1989). Addressing, respectively, the French Revolution of 1789, Belgium's proletarian messianism in the 1880s, and the worldwide rebellions and revolutions of 1968, these canonical images not only depict an alternative view of history but offer a new understanding of the relationship between art and politics and the revolutionary nature of true democracy.

Drawing on examples from literature, politics, philosophy, and other works of art, Jonsson carefully constructs his portrait, revealing surprising parallels between the political representation of "the people" in government and their aesthetic representation in painting. Both essentially "frame" the people, Jonsson argues, defining them as elites or masses, responsible citizens or angry mobs. Yet in the aesthetic fantasies of David, Ensor, and Jaar, Jonsson finds a different understanding of democracy-one in which human collectives break the frame and enter the picture.

Connecting the achievements and failures of past revolutions to current political issues, Jonsson then situates our present moment in a long historical drama of popular unrest, making his book both a cultural history and a contemporary discussion about the fate of democracy in our globalized world.

Columbia University Press

The Menexenus, in spite of the dearth of scholarly attention it has traditionally received compared to other Platonic texts, is an important dialogue for any consideration of Plato's views on political philosophy, history, and rhetoric – to say nothing of the dialogue's contribution to the study of civic ideology and institutions, natural law theory, and Plato's notion of race. Speeches for the Dead unites the contributions of scholars working on diverse aspects of the dialogue, growing out of a one-day workshop on the same subject at the University of Pennsylvania organized by the editors. In offering a variety of perspectives on the Menexenus, the volume is the very first of its kind in any language. In addition, the volume contains an up-to-date bibliography of scholarship in English, French, German, and Italian. This makes the book a definitive guide and ideal starting point for advanced students and scholars looking for further information about the dialogue.

Table of Contents List of Illustrations 1789: Jacques-Louis David, The Tennis Court Oath 1. Seizing the Floor 2. The Shadow of Democracy 3. The Number of People 4. The Swinish Multitude 5. Social Depths 6. The Hydra 7. Marianne 8. Les Misérables 9. The Barricade 10. Making Monkey 11. Smokescreens 12. Mass Grave 1889: James Ensor, Christ’s Entry Into Brussels in 1889 13. The Crucified 14. The Belgian’s Glory 15. Divorce 16. Hallucinations 17. Society Degree Zero 18. The Nigger 19. The Modern Breakthrough 20. Songs of the Fool 21. Homo Sacer 1989: Alfredo Jaar, They Loved It So Much, the Revolution 22. The Beloved 23. The Backside of the State 24. The Empty Throne 25. Political Violence 26. With Nails of Gold 27. Of Men and Beasts 28. Desperados 29. Autoimmunity 30. Saints 31. Complaints 32. The Baggage of the Barbarians 33. Departure Afterword Notes Index Plates