The Politics of Irony

This volume presents ten essays - all previously unpublished - that explore the ironic dimension of politics. Although most scholars hold the respective claims of irony and politics to be irreconcilable, these authors variously examine the wayward premise that politics is perhaps unavoidably ironic. The composition of the volume is cross-disciplinary, featuring authors from the fields of political theory, women's studies, literature and philosophy, all of whom address issues that lie at the intersection of these disciplines. The volume is divided into three parts. The first four essays attest to a history of political irony in the works of Plato, Swift, Goethe and Nietzsche. The next four essays examine the contemporary significance of irony in the politics of feminism, interpretation, resistance and postmodern play. The volume ends with an exchange between Jean Bethke Elshtain and Richard Rorty on the possibility of an ironic commitment to liberal ideas. John E. Seery is also the author of "Political Returns".