The Political Lives of Dead Bodies: Reburial and Postsocialist Change
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Book Overview
Since 1989, scores of bodies across Eastern Europe have been exhumed and brought to rest in new gravesites. Katherine Verdery investigates why certain corpses--the bodies of revolutionary leaders, heroes, artists, and other luminaries, as well as more humble folk--have taken on a political life in the turbulent times following the end of Communist Party rule, and what roles they play in revising the past and reorienting the present. Enlivening and invigorating the dialogue on postsocialist politics, this imaginative study helps us understand the dynamic and deeply symbolic nature of politics--and how it can breathe new life into old bones.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0231112319
ISBN13:9780231112314
Release Date:September 2000
Publisher:Columbia University Press
Length:208 Pages
Weight:0.67 lbs.
Dimensions:0.5" x 5.9" x 8.9"
Age Range:22 years and up
Grade Range:Postsecondary and higher
Customer Reviews
1 rating
A Lively, Readable Book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
I'm surprised to read the two reviews above, obviously written by readers who missed the point. The book is full of lively, concrete detail written in extremely readable prose. (Anyone who finds this kind of writing difficult to read obviously hasn't read much in the social sciences lately. Go read something by Homi Babha or Judith Butler, sweethearts, and come back and tell me Verdery uses too much jargon!)I found the particular cases--particularly the one on Inochentie Micu--a remarkable window into understanding why the postcommunist transition hasn't worked out according to the blueprints of neoliberal planners. It says a remarkable amount about the hopes, fears, and passions of people in the region, none of which are taken into account by those who seek to apply bloodless ideal-typical models to a region with an often bloody history.
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