What role did manhood play in early American Politics? In A Republic of Men, Mark E. Kann argues that the American founders aspired to create a "republic of men" but feared that "disorderly men" threatened its birth, health, and longevity. Kann demonstrates how hegemonic norms of manhood–exemplified by "the Family Man," for instance--were deployed as a means of stigmatizing unworthy men, rewarding responsible men with citizenship, and empowering exceptional men with positions of leadership and authority, while excluding women from public life.
Kann suggests that the founders committed themselves in theory to the democratic proposition that all men were created free and equal and could not be governed without their own consent, but that they in no way believed that "all men" could be trusted with equal liberty, equal citizenship, or equal authority. The founders developed a "grammar of manhood" to address some difficult questions about public order. Were America's disorderly men qualified for citizenship? Were they likely to recognize manly leaders, consent to their authority, and defer to their wisdom? A Republic of Men compellingly analyzes the ways in which the founders used a rhetoric of manhood to stabilize American politics.
About the Author :
Mark E. Kann, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and History, held the USC Associates Chair in Social Science at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Republic of Men (NYU Press, 1998) and Punishment, Prisons, and Patriarchy (NYU Press, 2005).
Review :
"Claiming Disability is the most comprehensive book in disability studies to come along yet. It wisely defines terms and concepts, linking them to and questioning the dominant issues in identity politics and multiculturalism, while mapping a direction for future study. A must read for anyone seriously thinking about the body and body politics in the postmodern era." -Lennard Davis, author of "Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness and the Body"
"Long overdue, Claiming Disability both carves out a new field of study, and introduces and educates readers to disability studies as a vibrant space of intellectual work. Linton weaves in and out of disciplines--queer studies, traditional educational psychology, literary criticism, critical legal studies--without a blink. Both precise and expansive, she declares and defines disability studies in ways that are systematic, theoretically engaging, and policy-relevant." -Michelle Fine, City University of New York
"Provides a broadened and enriched definition of disability, and its author unfolds a compelling way to evaluate Special Education." -Laurie R. Lehman, "Educators for Urban Minorities"
