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9780199381791

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"""With analytical rigor and theoretical boldness, The Politics of Consolation hovers closely over the rhetorical landscapes of political disasters in America. Christina Simko hears the alternating themes of official consolation speeches as they variously grapple with, and make sense of, suffering and loss. This is a beautifully written historical analysis of political meaning-making at its most intense and consequential."" -Robin Wagner-Pacifici, The New School ""The Politics of Consolation is an extraordinary work of cultural and historical sociology, proving once again the value of close reading and insightful interpretation in the social sciences. Simko's demonstration of the multidirectional interplay between past, present, and future, in political rhetoric about the national catastrophe of 9/11, is highly illuminating, morally profound, and politically consequential. It is a must read for both scholars and the concerned public."" -Jeffrey Olick, University of Virginia ""In modern American history, politicians have frequently stepped into the public eye to 'console the nation' in the aftermath of violent events. In doing so, they seek to render evil comprehensible while also setting out a course of action that follows 'naturally' from the events they interpret. Christina Simko's study discovers the inner logic of this process, and thus articulates a new understanding of how public sense-making proceeds in a democracy driven by both myth and power. This book is a wonderful debut from a powerful new voice in interpretive sociology."" -Isaac Ariail Reed, author of Interpretation and Social Knowledge ""With calmness and ferocious scholarly insight, Simko's book leaves you feeling very uncomfortable with how the politics of consolation has come to define the twenty-first century, an era that is synonymous with terror, disaster, crisis, and widespread fear and anxiety...This is an excellent book: uncomfortable, unsettling and, in many ways, scathing."" --Social Forces ""...this is a scholarly and impressive book....It is well researched and marries theory with empirics through lucid prose. Most important, it presents an important analysis and argument, which contributes to a body of work trying to redress the worst excesses of post-9/11 politics and foreign policy."" --American Journal of Sociology ""The Politics of Consolation offers fresh hope for a disciplinary endeavor described as 'centerless'...Hers is a shining example of what cultural sociology, collective memory, and historical sociology can and should do in conjunction with one another."" --Teaching Sociology ""The structure and the theoretical approach used within the book are highly innovative... It is an assessment of the function and use of memory and commemoration within political discourse, and...it excels."" -- European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology"

With analytical rigor and theoretical boldness, The Politics of Consolation hovers closely over the rhetorical landscapes of political disasters in America. Christina Simko hears the alternating themes of official consolation speeches as they variously grapple with, and make sense of, suffering and loss. This is a beautifully written historical analysis of political meaning-making at its most intense and consequential. -Robin Wagner-Pacifici, The New School The Politics of Consolation is an extraordinary work of cultural and historical sociology, proving once again the value of close reading and insightful interpretation in the social sciences. Simko's demonstration of the multidirectional interplay between past, present, and future, in political rhetoric about the national catastrophe of 9/11, is highly illuminating, morally profound, and politically consequential. It is a must read for both scholars and the concerned public. -Jeffrey Olick, University of Virginia In modern American history, politicians have frequently stepped into the public eye to 'console the nation' in the aftermath of violent events. In doing so, they seek to render evil comprehensible while also setting out a course of action that follows 'naturally' from the events they interpret. Christina Simko's study discovers the inner logic of this process, and thus articulates a new understanding of how public sense-making proceeds in a democracy driven by both myth and power. This book is a wonderful debut from a powerful new voice in interpretive sociology. -Isaac Ariail Reed, author of Interpretation and Social Knowledge With calmness and ferocious scholarly insight, Simko's book leaves you feeling very uncomfortable with how the politics of consolation has come to define the twenty-first century, an era that is synonymous with terror, disaster, crisis, and widespread fear and anxiety...This is an excellent book: uncomfortable, unsettling and, in many ways, scathing. --Social Forces ...this is a scholarly and impressive book....It is well researched and marries theory with empirics through lucid prose. Most important, it presents an important analysis and argument, which contributes to a body of work trying to redress the worst excesses of post-9/11 politics and foreign policy. --American Journal of Sociology The Politics of Consolation offers fresh hope for a disciplinary endeavor described as 'centerless'...Hers is a shining example of what cultural sociology, collective memory, and historical sociology can and should do in conjunction with one another. --Teaching Sociology The structure and the theoretical approach used within the book are highly innovative... It is an assessment of the function and use of memory and commemoration within political discourse, and...it excels. -- European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology

With analytical rigor and theoretical boldness, The Politics of Consolation hovers closely over the rhetorical landscapes of political disasters in America. Christina Simko hears the alternating themes of official consolation speeches as they variously grapple with, and make sense of, suffering and loss. This is a beautifully written historical analysis of political meaning-making at its most intense and consequential. -Robin Wagner-Pacifici, The New School The Politics of Consolation is an extraordinary work of cultural and historical sociology, proving once again the value of close reading and insightful interpretation in the social sciences. Simko's demonstration of the multidirectional interplay between past, present, and future, in political rhetoric about the national catastrophe of 9/11, is highly illuminating, morally profound, and politically consequential. It is a must read for both scholars and the concerned public. -Jeffrey Olick, University of Virginia In modern American history, politicians have frequently stepped into the public eye to 'console the nation' in the aftermath of violent events. In doing so, they seek to render evil comprehensible while also setting out a course of action that follows 'naturally' from the events they interpret. Christina Simko's study discovers the inner logic of this process, and thus articulates a new understanding of how public sense-making proceeds in a democracy driven by both myth and power. This book is a wonderful debut from a powerful new voice in interpretive sociology. -Isaac Ariail Reed, author of Interpretation and Social Knowledge

In modern American history, politicians have frequently stepped into the public eye to 'console the nation' in the aftermath of violent events. In doing so, they seek to render evil comprehensible while also setting out a course of action that follows 'naturally' from the events they interpret. Christina Simko's study discovers the inner logic of this process, and thus articulates a new understanding of how public sense-making proceeds in a democracy driven by both myth and power. This book is a wonderful debut from a powerful new voice in interpretive sociology. * Isaac Ariail Reed, author of Interpretation and Social Knowledge * The Politics of Consolation is an extraordinary work of cultural and historical sociology, proving once again the value of close reading and insightful interpretation in the social sciences. Simko's demonstration of the multidirectional interplay between past, present, and future, in political rhetoric about the national catastrophe of 9/11, is highly illuminating, morally profound, and politically consequential. It is a must read for both scholars and the concerned public. -Jeffrey Olick, University of Virginia With analytical rigor and theoretical boldness, The Politics of Consolation hovers closely over the rhetorical landscapes of political disasters in America. Christina Simko hears the alternating themes of official consolation speeches as they variously grapple with, and make sense of, suffering and loss. This is a beautifully written historical analysis of political meaning-making at its most intense and consequential. * Robin Wagner-Pacifici, The New School *

With analytical rigor and theoretical boldness, The Politics of Consolation hovers closely over the rhetorical landscapes of political disasters in America. Christina Simko hears the alternating themes of official consolation speeches as they variously grapple with, and make sense of, suffering and loss. This is a beautifully written historical analysis of political meaning-making at its most intense and consequential. -Robin Wagner-Pacifici, The New School The Politics of Consolation is an extraordinary work of cultural and historical sociology, proving once again the value of close reading and insightful interpretation in the social sciences. Simko's demonstration of the multidirectional interplay between past, present, and future, in political rhetoric about the national catastrophe of 9/11, is highly illuminating, morally profound, and politically consequential. It is a must read for both scholars and the concerned public. -Jeffrey Olick, University of Virginia In modern American history, politicians have frequently stepped into the public eye to 'console the nation' in the aftermath of violent events. In doing so, they seek to render evil comprehensible while also setting out a course of action that follows 'naturally' from the events they interpret. Christina Simko's study discovers the inner logic of this process, and thus articulates a new understanding of how public sense-making proceeds in a democracy driven by both myth and power. This book is a wonderful debut from a powerful new voice in interpretive sociology. -Isaac Ariail Reed, author of Interpretation and Social Knowledge With calmness and ferocious scholarly insight, Simko's book leaves you feeling very uncomfortable with how the politics of consolation has come to define the twenty-first century, an era that is synonymous with terror, disaster, crisis, and widespread fear and anxiety...This is an excellent book: uncomfortable, unsettling and, in many ways, scathing. --Social Forces ...this is a scholarly and impressive book....It is well researched and marries theory with empirics through lucid prose. Most important, it presents an important analysis and argument, which contributes to a body of work trying to redress the worst excesses of post-9/11 politics and foreign policy. --American Journal of Sociology The Politics of Consolation offers fresh hope for a disciplinary endeavor described as 'centerless'...Hers is a shining example of what cultural sociology, collective memory, and historical sociology can and should do in conjunction with one another. --Teaching Sociology The structure and the theoretical approach used within the book are highly innovative... It is an assessment of the function and use of memory and commemoration within political discourse, and...it excels. -- European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology

Author Information

Christina Simko is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Williams College.

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