Horizonte der Demokratie – Offene Lebensformen nach Walt Whitman« (Horizons of Democracy – Open Ways of Life After Walt Whitman)
The volume Horizonte der Demokratie. Offene Lebensformen nach Walt Whitman, edited by Till van Rahden and Johannes Völz, was published in May 2024 by Transcript Verlag, Bielefeld. It inaugurates the book series published under the aegis of the research focus »Democratic Vistas. Reflections on the Atlantic World.«
In a dialog of essay and reply, members of the research focus meet international interlocutors and shed light on democracy as an open and diverse way of life. Inspired by the ideas of the American poet Walt Whitman, moments of democratic openness are explored in a wide variety of places: in China in the 1920s, in South African photography of the post-apartheid era, in the work of Black women poets, or in economic policy scaled up to trillions of dollars.
The volume brings together contributions by Cameron Abadi (deputy editor, Foreign Policy), Andreas Fahrmeir (history), Josef Früchtl (aesthetics), Walter Grünzweig (literary studies), Patricia Hayes (African history), Hanna Pfeifer (political science), Till van Rahden (history), Martin Saar (philosophy), Heike Schäfer (American studies), Adam Tooze (economic history), Johannes Völz (American studies), Michael Walzer (philosophy), and Zhiyi Yang (sinology). The volume is aimed at a broad audience beyond academia; English-language contributions have been translated into German.
Table of contents and introduction
About the book series
For some time now, liberal democracies have been under attack from authoritarian forces both within and without, making their future look uncertain. Against this background, the series »Democratic Vistas / Demokratische Horizonte« opens perspectives on contemporary democracy. It examines ideas outlined by the American poet Walt Whitman in his 1871 essay Democratic Vistas and develops them further. For Whitman, uncertainty was one of the essential characteristics of democracy. As an experiment in the pursuit of freedom and equality, democracy always come with the possibility of failure. The risk of lapsing into tyranny is the reverse side of collective self-organization.
The series is edited by Gunther Hellmann and Johannes Völz.
A conversation about the book (podcast, in German)
»Horizonte der Demokratie – ein Gespräch über Walt Whitmans Einfluss auf demokratisches Denken«: In conversation with Greta Wagner, Till van Rahden and Johannes Völz present the first volume of the new series »Democratic Vistas / Demokratische Horizonte« and explain the idea behind the project. You can listen to the conversation here anhören.
A conversation about the book (print, in German)
»Demokratie (auch) als Lebensform‹«: Interview mit den Herausgebern im UniReport der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (Nr. 4, 11.07.2024, S. 8). You can read the interview here.