The Cue for Passion: Grief and Its Political Uses

Gail Holst-Warhaft

Published by Harvard University Press 2000

The Cue for Passion

Grief and Its Political Uses

Gail Holst-Warhaft

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674498587

Overview
Contents

About this book

Having set aside age-old ways of mourning, how do people in the modern world cope with tragic loss? Using traditional mourning rituals as an instructive touchstone, Gail Holst-Warhaft explores the ways sorrow is managed in our own times and how mourning can be manipulated for social and political ends.

Since ancient times political and religious authorities have been alert to the dangerously powerful effects of communal expressions of grief--while valuing mourning rites as a controlled outlet for emotion. But today grief is often seen as a psychological problem: the bereaved are encouraged to seek counseling or take antidepressants. At the same time, we have witnessed some striking examples of manipulation of shared grief for political effect. One instance is the unprecedented concentration on recovery of the remains of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. In Buenos Aires the Mothers of the Disappeared forged the passion of their grief into a political weapon. Similarly the gay community in the United States, transformed by grief and rage, not only lobbied effectively for AIDS victims but channeled their emotions into fresh artistic expression.

It might be argued that, in contrast to earlier cultures, modern society has largely abdicated its role in managing sorrow. But in The Cue for Passion we see that some communities, moved by the intensity of their grief, have utilized it to gain ground for their own agendas.

Author / Editor information

Holst-Warhaft Gail :

Gail Holst-Warhaft is Adjunct Associate Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at Cornell University.

Reviews

The meaning of grief, its public expression and the ways in which it has been manipulated for political effect, is the subject of this intriguing book. The strength of The Cue for Passion lies in the range of texts Gail Holst-Warhaft examines and the number of contexts she explores in order to consider the place of grief in Western society.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction: The Theater of Mourning Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Tears Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	20
2. Laughter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	54
3. Bones Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	78
4. Disappearance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	104
5. Plague Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
6. Memorials Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	158
Afierthoughts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	198
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	225

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Edition: Reprint 2014
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 228
Keywords: SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General; PSYCHOLOGY / Emotions; Mourning customs -- Political aspects.; Grief -- Political aspects.

eBook

Published: October 1, 2013
ISBN: 9780674498587

Hardcover

Published: February 5, 2000
ISBN: 9780674498570