Out of Joint: Power, Crisis, and the Rhetoric of Time - Softcover

Lazar, Nomi Claire

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0300166338 ISBN 13: 9780300166330

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2019

Synopsis

How constructions of time shape political beliefs about what is possible—and what is inevitable
 
To secure power in a crisis, leaders must sell deep change as a means to future good. But how could we know the future? Nomi Claire Lazar draws on stories across a range of cultures and contexts, ancient and modern, to show how leaders use constructions of time to frame events. These frames carry an implicit promise to secure or subvert an expected future, shaping belief in what is possible—and what is inevitable.
 
“Ranging imaginatively across history and geography, this elegant book probes temporal sources of order and transformation. Its analytical wisdom discloses how calendars and representations of time shape political legitimacy, dispositions, and action.”—Ira I. Katznelson, author of Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time
 
“Great political leaders, for good or ill, seek to shape our daily lives by playing with time itself. That is the central insight of this elegant, erudite volume, one that means I will henceforth listen to speeches and manifestos with new ears and new tools to rebut them.”—Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America
 
“Nomi Lazar gives us a fascinating exploration of the political construction of time itself, as structured by calendars, dating systems, and other mechanisms used for legitimation, revolution, and a myriad of other political purposes. A memorable and endlessly interesting book.”—Adrian Vermeule, Harvard Law School

About this title

Book Description:

Drawing on stories of leaders and thinkers across a range of cultures and political contexts, ancient and modern, Nomi Claire Lazar shows how constructions of time can help stabilize or destabilize political order and spark violent resistance or coax quiescence by shaping belief in what is possible—and what is inevitable.

About the Author:

Nomi Claire Lazar is Associate Dean of Faculty and Associate Professor of Politics at Yale-NUS in Singapore.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0300166338
• ISBN 13: 9780300166330
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288