The Western and Political Thought

“Political theory explores the concepts (law, violence, property) and principles (share necessities, don’t back down, but do get along) that animate western civilization. Picariello’s set of studies engage these politics through the colorful characters and exciting scenes in popular westerns. The yield is a great range of insights about well-known classics, provocative additions, and productive connections. Riding this range is a real pleasure — and education!” —John S. Nelson, Emeritus Professor of Political Theory and Communication, University of Iowa, USA and author of Cowboy Politics “Picariello and his colleagues have prepared a treat for students of political theory and fans of Western movies. Beginning from the premise that Westerns demonstrate the frontier where law, order, justice, equality, freedom, obedience, and violence intertwine, the chapters included analyze a wide range of Westerns building oninsights from Plato, Hobbes, Aristotle, and Locke, among others. Readers will find themselves rewatching movies and rereading these essays for years to come.” —Anthony P. Spanakos, Professor of Political Science and Law, Montclair State University, USA “For teachers and students of American politics and cultural studies, political philosophy and theory, American literature and cinema and popular culture, this volume…constitutes an indispensable resource.” —Jeffrey J. Poelvoorde, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Converse University, USA The Western and Political Thought: A Fistful of Politics offers a variety of engaging and entertaining answers to the question: What do Westerns have to do with politics? This collection features contributions from scholars in a variety of fields—political science, English, communication studies, and others—that explore the connections between Westerns (prose fiction,films, television series, and more) and politics. Damien K. Picariello is Associate Professor of Political Science and Williams Brice Edwards Professor of Social Sciences at the University of South Carolina Sumter, USA. He is the editor of Politics in Gotham: The Batman Universe and Political Thought (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019) and The Politics of Horror (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).