Public Spaces, Private Lives Beyond the Culture of Cynicism
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Henry A. Giroux is Waterbury Chair of Education at Pennsylvania State University and author of numerous books and articles on society, education, and political culture, including most recently, The Mouse That Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence and Channel Surfing.A brilliantly developed study of the loss of public opportunities and civic solidarity, and their replacement by a market-driven ethos that commodifies our longings and exalts the selfish and encapsulated will of isolated individuals. Public Spaces, Private Lives is Henry Giroux's most fascinating work to date—and, the most profoundly energizing. Giroux repeatedly has brought his formidable intellect to bear on issues that immediately matter to ordinary men and women. He enters the moral battles of our era in the cultural locations—film, the press, TV—in which they actually are waged. This is why Giroux has come to be a public force of critical importance—an importance certain to be magnified by this deliciously irreverent and iconoclastic work. A brave book by a brilliant man with a big heart and a shrewd eye for the cruelties and contradictions of our paradoxical society.
- Jonathan Kozol, Acclaimed American Author Of Death At An Early Age,
Just when I thought visionaries were dead, along comes Henry Giroux. With his usual eloquence and verve, Giroux makes a powerful case for recovering the public sphere, building a new civic culture, and creating a new political vocabulary that draws from the well of imagination and hope. Cynics beware! This book might bring you back to the hard work of dreaming.
- Robin D. G. Kelley, author of <I>Yo? Mama?s DisFunktional!: Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America<I>,
Must reading for anyone concerned about finding solutions to the crises that face American society.
- Arif Dirlik, author of Marxism in the Chinese Revolution,
Henry Giroux's Public Spaces, Private Lives is a passionate and informed call-to-arms for scholars, students, and citizens alike. Drawing from the most progressive and appealing aspects of the cultural studies tradition, and willing to take on sacred cows left and right, Giroux makes a penetrating critique of the decay of contemporary society, and points toward a revitalization of public life. This clearly written and lucidly argued book deserves the widest possible readership.
- Robert W. McChesney, author, Blowing the Roof Off the Twenty-First Century: Media, Politics, and the Struggle,
At a time when cynicism and despair have gripped many intellectuals, Henry Giroux's Public Spaces, Private Lives is a virtual manifesto of a new politics of hope. The essays are always sharp, but more to the point, anyone can learn from them. As always Giroux's scope of knowledge and breadth of concern is dazzling. But this book has special relevance for a time when we need voices like Giroux's to light the way.
- Stanley Aronowitz, CUNY Graduate Center, author of From the Ashes of the Old: American Labor and America's Future,
In an era when the American public regards politics cynically, this book shows how and why citizens must reclaim an influence on the public institutions and policies that shape their lives. It argues for a new language of hope and democratic public participation.
Hispanic Outlook
Public Spaces, Private Lives appears at a time of seismic reversals that are occurring in the public sphere. While written before September 11th, the book has far more significance since that event. This book marks a new phase in Giroux's intellectual trajectory.
Teachers College Record
Anyone with an interest in education and democratic society should read this book. It will motivate discussion, critical thinking, and questions. . . .
NACADA Journal