Society, Theory and the French Revolution
Studies In The Revolutionary Imaginary
- Editore:
Palgrave Macmillan UK
- EAN:
9781349183630
- ISBN:
1349183636
- Pagine:
- 248
- Formato:
- Paperback
- Lingua:
- Inglese
Descrizione Society, Theory and the French Revolution
This is a very different book about the French Revolution of 1789-94. The concern is less with a change in society than a change in the relation that a society establishes with itself. Here the focus is on society's presentation (and representation) considered not simply from the perspective of a few privileged intellectuals, but as a social and historical process inseparable from the institution of society's political dimension. Through a close reading of the revolutionary texts of the period, the author is able to trace behind the surface of events and conflict themes of a more abstract, fundamental character - themes relative to the 'discovery' of society, the construction of the nation-state, and what for the revolutionaries was the scandal of their separation. While retaining a fidelity to the eighteenth century, this book opens up new theoretical perspectives that illuminate the character of both a certain revolutionary heritage and a more general political modernity.
