Pomp, Circumstance, and the Performance of Politics

Acting Politically Correct in the Ancient World

Kathryn R Morgan editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

Published:23rd Apr '24

Should be back in stock very soon

Pomp, Circumstance, and the Performance of Politics cover

When we imagine ancient political life, we think of powerful rulers and awe-inspiring monuments, not grassroots movements. But if the cacophony of our modern political discourse can teach us anything, it is that negotiating power and legitimacy is an ongoing conversation, not a monologue.

Pomp, Circumstance, and the Performance of Politics investigates moments and spaces in the pre-modern world where audiences had the opportunity to weigh in on the messages their leaders were sending. How did ordinary people experience and contribute to their political realities, and what strategies did rulers use to gain support? Bringing together scholars working in a wide variety of disciplines and time periods, from pre-hispanic Mesoamerica and Early Historic India to the Assyrian Empire and papal Rome, this book takes a bottom-up approach to evaluating the risks and rewards of acting "politically correct"—or incorrect—in the ancient world.

ISBN: 9781614911067

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

411 pages