Cultures of Optimism The Institutional Promotion of Hope
What are the functions of optimism in modern societies? How is hope culturally transmitted? What values and attitudes does it reflect? This book explores how and why powerful institutions propagate 'cultures of optimism' in different domains, such as poli
- PDF / 749,191 Bytes
- 243 Pages / 391.181 x 615.118 pts Page_size
- 13 Downloads / 151 Views
otion of Hope
9
7484819
ectual property rights ght and its use is restricted by our standard site license terms and www.palgraveconnect.com/pc/connect/info/terms_conditions.html). If you e or share in any format including, for the avoidance of doubt, posting on e express prior permission of Palgrave Macmillan. To request permission @palgrave.com.
Cultures of Optimism The Institutional Promotion of Hope
Oliver Bennett
David Inglis, University of Exeter, UK Editor, Cultural Sociology Bennett’s Cultures of Optimism is a ground-breaking work on hope and optimism, topics that have been unduly neglected in sociology and cultural studies. Bennett exhibits impressive range as he explores the development and transmission of hope and optimism in politics, family life, the workplace, religious communities, and other cultural institutions. Best of all, he presents new theories and cutting-edge research in a style that is engaging and illuminating for all of us. This book will both ignite and set a high standard for future work on hope and optimism. Sam Newlands, University of Notre Dame, USA Director of Research, Centre for Philosophy and Religion Hats off to Oliver Bennett for this wide-ranging treatment of what makes us look forward positively in life. By addressing ‘cultures of optimism’ across some of the most fundamental institutional frames of our life experience, he has certainly broken out of any conventional corral of cultural policy and greatly extended how we might think about this field. This promises to be a significant cross-disciplinary and really thought-provoking book. Philip Schlesinger, University of Glasgow, UK Professor in Cultural Policy What makes Bennett’s approach both original and distinctive is its application of modes of analysis from the humanities to a range of topics usually deemed to lie outside their sphere of competence. One of his concerns—exploring optimism as a cultural ‘policy’—is especially rich, revealing cultural policy to be in fact a meta-discipline alongside, but quite distinct from, cultural studies and cultural history. David Looseley, University of Leeds, UK Emeritus Professor of Contemporary French Culture
10.1057/9781137484819 - Cultures of Optimism, Oliver Bennett
Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to Monash University - PalgraveConnect - 2015-06-15
A brilliant diagnosis of what optimism is and what it does in every aspect of human society, Bennett’s book is a bold trans-disciplinary statement which clearly and vividly illustrates a crucial but very underappreciated fact: the human being is essentially an optimistic animal.
David Throsby, Macquarie University, Australia Author of Economics and Culture Oliver Bennett offers an accessible, cross-disciplinary survey of how philosophers, social scientists, religious authors, and popular writers think about hope, optimism, and related states. The primary focus throughout, however, is on the way that cultural institutions seek to promote a kind of hopefulness or optimism in their members. Bennett
Data Loading...
