Repressive Regimes, Aesthetic States, and Arts of Resistance investigates the tensions between politics and aesthetics by exploring the ways in which various "arts" are mobilized in the service of political repression and human emancipation. Building upon theories of the arts/politics and aesthetics/states relation, the book utilizes illuminating historical case studies to reveal the roles public arts have played in the construction of different types of "aesthetic" states: in ancient Rome during the transition from Republic to Empire, in modern Europe during the transition from feudalism to capitalism, and in the postmodern United States under the conditions of advanced capitalism. After comparing theories to practices of statecraft, the book goes on to explore contemporary arts of resistance against corrupt corporate practices and repressive political regimes. In light of these examples, it becomes evident there is an ongoing world-historical battle between those who "aestheticize the political" to perpetuate repressive regimes and those who "politicize the aesthetic" to make states less repressed and peoples more reasonable. -- Back cover.

"Resistance Performed. An Anthology on Aesthetic Srategies in Latin America presents stratagems artists devised to articulate dissent. The focus is on historic positions from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay since the late 1960s that bear witness to how oppositionists worked—and often risked their lives—to offer resistance to Latin America’s repressive political systems. The anthology highlights strategies of linguistic self-empowerment in the formats of performance art, interventions, and actions as practices of resistance. These pieces are presented in dialogue with works by contemporary artists from Central and South America who address the repercussions and lingering effects of dictatorial regimes." - Publisher's website.

Case studies exploring the roots of persuasion and rhetorical unconsciousness Rhetorical Unconsciousness and Political Psychoanalysis investigates unintentional forms of persuasion, their political consequences, and our ethical relation to the same. M. Lane Bruner argues that the unintentional ways we are persuaded are far more important than intentional persuasion; in fact all intentional persuasion is built on the foundations of rhetorical unconsciousness, whether we are persuaded through ignorance (the unsayable), unconscious symbolic processes (the unspoken), or productive repression (the unspeakable). Bruner brings together a wide range of theoretical approaches to unintentional persuasion, establishing the locations of such persuasion and providing examples taken from the Western European transition from feudalism to capitalism. To be more specific, phenomena related to artificial personhood and the commodity self have led to transformations in material culture from architecture to theater, showing how rhetorical unconsciousness works to create symptoms. Bruner then examines ethical considerations, the relationships among language in use, unconsciousness, and the seemingly irrational aspects of cultural and political history.

In what ways does political trauma influence the art arising from it? Is there an aesthetic of war and exile in theatrical works that emerge from such experiences? Are there cultural markers defining such works from areas like Eastern Europe and Israel? This book considers these questions in an examination of plays, performances and theater artists that speak from a place of political violence and displacement. The author's critical inquiry covers a variety of theatrical experimentations, including Brechtian distancing, black humor, pastiche, surreal and hyper-real imagery, reversed chronologies and disrupted narratives. Drawing on postmodern theories and performance studies as well as interviews and personal statements from the artists discussed, this study explores the transformative power of the theater arts and their function as catalysts for social change, healing and remembrance.

A philosophical-cultural exploration, this book expands the discussion of "class" from a novel perspective. Following the current debates about wealth and class, the contributors address the social and cultural phenomena of class from a uniquely innovative philosophical approach and reconsider philosophical "givens" within the context of culture.

Repressive Regimes, Aesthetic States, and Arts of Resistance investigates the tensions between politics and aesthetics by exploring the ways in which various "arts" are mobilized in the service of political repression and human emancipation. Building upon theories of the arts/politics and aesthetics/states relation, the book utilizes illuminating historical case studies to reveal the roles public arts have played in the construction of different types of "aesthetic" states: in ancient Rome during the transition from Republic to Empire, in modern Europe during the transition from feudalism to capitalism, and in the postmodern United States under the conditions of advanced capitalism. After comparing theories to practices of statecraft, the book goes on to explore contemporary arts of resistance against corrupt corporate practices and repressive political regimes. In light of these examples, it becomes evident there is an ongoing world-historical battle between those who "aestheticize the political" to perpetuate repressive regimes and those who "politicize the aesthetic" to make states less repressed and peoples more reasonable. -- Back cover.