A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Building American National Identity Through Art |
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Authors: | Alison D Howard Donna R Hoffman |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Political Science and International Studies , Dominican University of California;2. Department of Political Science , University of Northern Iowa |
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Abstract: | ABSTRACTEven though agonistic democratic theory espouses and celebrates competition, it seemingly lacks a coherent ethic for decent winning and losing in everyday political life. This article is an effort to fill this void by suggesting a practice-based, non-perfectionist ethic drawn from sport. Focusing on Xenophon's On Hunting, we argue that sport, properly defined, offers an appropriate experience with ponos (toil, suffering) that teaches citizens perseverance, humility, generosity, empathy, and stewardship. This sporting ethic, we argue, provides a more suitable model for winning and losing in public life than the martial basis of agonistic democratic theory. |
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Keywords: | art social contexts portraiture sculpture visual rhetoric |
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