Constructing the Enemy
Empathy/Antipathy in U.S. Literature and Law
Published on 9. December 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
220 pages
978-1-4399-0324-7 (ISBN)
Description
An argument, based in history, law, literature, and philosophy, for empathy as an integral part of decisions about who will be designated an enemy of the state
Reviews / Votes
"Constructing the Enemy is a fascinating book-nuanced and engaging-that weaves together legal theory, the realities of legal practice, historical vignettes, and literary analysis. Srikanth artfully straddles disciplines and adds important new insights. Her refined, subtly developed topic is quite timely, and her ideas about empathy/antipathy are both challenging and accessible." -Daniel Kanstroom, Boston CollegeMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Philadelphia PA
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 224 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
318 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4399-0324-7 (9781439903247)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Rajini Srikanth is Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is the author of The World Next Door: South Asian American Literature and the Idea of America and the coeditor (with Sunaina Maira) of Contours of the Heart: South Asians Map North America and (with Lavina Dhingra Shankar) of A Part Yet Apart: South Asians in Asian America.
Content
Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: The Landscape of Empathy 2. Literary Imagination and American Empathy 3. Deserving Empathy? Renouncing American Citizenship 4. Hierarchies of Horror, Levels of Abuse: Empathy for the Internees 5. Guantanamo: Where Lawyers Connect with the "Worst of the Worst" Conclusion