Burdens of Political Responsibility

Rezensionen / Stimmen

'In Burdens of Political Responsibility, Jade Schiff has many stories to tell - of engagement and disengagement, bad faith and good, power and powerlessness, the meaning of identity, and the claims that our specific identities make upon us. This is a nuanced, careful, and deeply felt exploration into the relationship between the ordinary and extraordinary experiences of life in a world that too often frustrates our desires to act in responsible ways. Yet Schiff is not frustrated. She instead acts as a steady and encouraging voice for new ways of facing power and connecting with others.' Thomas Dumm, Amherst College 'Jade Schiff very thoughtfully explores one of the most important questions of political life: how do we come to acknowledge and experience - or disavow - the burdens of political responsibility for suffering in which we are implicated? Through insightful readings of Arendt, Sartre, Bourdieu, and others, Schiff's book sheds important light on how and why cultivating dialogical narrative practice is indispensable to our sense of responsibility, and she proposes a theory of political musicality that truly rings.' Romand Coles, Northern Arizona University 'Drawing on a rich variety of theoretical and political sources, Jade Larissa Schiff's beautifully written book details the forms of narrative flight that impede political responsiveness and explores the kinds of stories that can elicit engagement with the suffering of others. In an era of neoliberal globalization dominated by thoughtlessness, bad faith, and misrecognition, Schiff's lucid account offers us an ethical counterpoint that is more important than ever.' Jeanne Morefield, Whitman College 'In contemporary political theory, responsibility is becoming a key concept. In this fine book, Jade Schiff reconceives some barriers to responsiveness - thoughtlessness, bad faith, and misrecognition - and shows us how, using narrative and story, the power of responsiveness to the suffering of others can help to produce new political thinking.' Joan Tronto, University of Minnesota