Description
Throughout his career, Bob Dylan has always been more than a musician. Whether as an icon of the social movements of the 1960s, a convert to evangelical Christianity publicly wrestling with his faith, or simply a poet of genius, Dylan has occupied a position of moral leadership for more than half a century. Examining these roles collectively, the award-winning political philosopher Jeffrey Edward Green offers a vision of Dylan as a modern-day prophet, providing an overarching account of the significance of Dylan's political, religious, and ethical ideas. Green suggests Dylan is not a prophet of salvation, but rather a "prophet of diremption." Dylan speaks to the ideals that have animated earlier prophets--social justice, individual freedom, and adherence to God--but breaks from past tradition by testifying to the conflicts between these ideals. By considering Dylan's work across his career, Green shows how the humble folk singer from Minnesota who went on to win the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature has made novel contributions to the meaning of self-reliance, the quest for rapprochement between the religious and non-religious, and the problem of how ordinary people might operate in a fallen political world.
About the Author
Jeffrey Edward Green is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Shadow of Unfairness and The Eyes of the People.
Reviews
Bob Dylan contains multitudes. Performer. Poet. Painter. Preacher. Purveyor of fine whiskies. And even, many insist, Prophet. But what does that mean? In this compelling book, Jeffrey Edward Green finds Dylan to be a prophet of diremption, a prophet without God, and for devotees one who shows them what it is to be eloquent, freethinking, self-conscious, and courageous in an often baffling and chaotic world. An insightful and thought-provoking study of the Nobel laureate and his celebrated lyrics. * Michael Gilmour, Providence University College *
Green does for Dylan as a tireless explorer of human history and the human condition what Sir Christopher Ricks (Dylan's Visions of Sin) and Richard Thomas (Why Bob Dylan Matters) did for Dylan as a songster poet within and beyond the western literary tradition. Green investigates why Bob Dylan and the likes of Emerson and Thoreau matter and helps us understand our sins and successes and ethical dilemmas as private human beings and as moral actors in society. * Thomas G. Palaima, Robert M. Armstrong Centennial Professor of Classics, University of Texas at Austin *
Prophet Without God is thoroughly original. Its central claim, that Dylan should be understood as a 'prophet of diremption' who insists on the conflict between justice, freedom, and divinity as sources of ethical direction, represents a serious challenge to established understandings of Dylan's politics that will provoke and enliven fans worldwide. But the stakes go well beyond Dylanology: in joining the growing number of political theorists who look to art as an important form of political thought, Green's ultimate target is to expose the antinomies of contemporary bourgeois progressivism. * Jonny Thakkar, Author of Plato as Critical Theorist *
In this brilliant analysis, Green helps us hear Dylan's voices as philosophical honesty in a world where freedom, justice, and God don't often get along. * Ian S. Lustick, Bess W. Heyman Chair, Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania *
Deep, challenging, powerful. * Anthony DeCurtis *
Dylan has been with and without belief. What has been constant is his prophecy. He can invoke Jehovah, Jesus, or the Blakean deity of 'Every Grain of Sand.' Dylan saw the end times coming with 'Hard Rain' over 60 years ago, a song he sung as a Christian, a Jew, a lingerie salesman. He is prophecy on his own, and Green's powerful book is a testament to how it 'feels.' * David Yaffe, Syracuse University *
One of the most original and creative readings of the artist's life and work I've read in forever. * Nick Gillespie *
Fascinatingly good....A fantastic work. * Tim Benson, Ill Literacy Podcast *
Book Information
ISBN 9780197651742
Author Jeffrey Edward Green
Format Hardback
Page Count 368
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 612g
Dimensions(mm) 221mm * 155mm * 33mm
About the Author
Jeffrey Edward Green is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Shadow of Unfairness and The Eyes of the People.
Reviews
Bob Dylan contains multitudes. Performer. Poet. Painter. Preacher. Purveyor of fine whiskies. And even, many insist, Prophet. But what does that mean? In this compelling book, Jeffrey Edward Green finds Dylan to be a prophet of diremption, a prophet without God, and for devotees one who shows them what it is to be eloquent, freethinking, self-conscious, and courageous in an often baffling and chaotic world. An insightful and thought-provoking study of the Nobel laureate and his celebrated lyrics. * Michael Gilmour, Providence University College *
Green does for Dylan as a tireless explorer of human history and the human condition what Sir Christopher Ricks (Dylan's Visions of Sin) and Richard Thomas (Why Bob Dylan Matters) did for Dylan as a songster poet within and beyond the western literary tradition. Green investigates why Bob Dylan and the likes of Emerson and Thoreau matter and helps us understand our sins and successes and ethical dilemmas as private human beings and as moral actors in society. * Thomas G. Palaima, Robert M. Armstrong Centennial Professor of Classics, University of Texas at Austin *
Prophet Without God is thoroughly original. Its central claim, that Dylan should be understood as a 'prophet of diremption' who insists on the conflict between justice, freedom, and divinity as sources of ethical direction, represents a serious challenge to established understandings of Dylan's politics that will provoke and enliven fans worldwide. But the stakes go well beyond Dylanology: in joining the growing number of political theorists who look to art as an important form of political thought, Green's ultimate target is to expose the antinomies of contemporary bourgeois progressivism. * Jonny Thakkar, Author of Plato as Critical Theorist *
In this brilliant analysis, Green helps us hear Dylan's voices as philosophical honesty in a world where freedom, justice, and God don't often get along. * Ian S. Lustick, Bess W. Heyman Chair, Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania *
Deep, challenging, powerful. * Anthony DeCurtis *
Dylan has been with and without belief. What has been constant is his prophecy. He can invoke Jehovah, Jesus, or the Blakean deity of 'Every Grain of Sand.' Dylan saw the end times coming with 'Hard Rain' over 60 years ago, a song he sung as a Christian, a Jew, a lingerie salesman. He is prophecy on his own, and Green's powerful book is a testament to how it 'feels.' * David Yaffe, Syracuse University *
One of the most original and creative readings of the artist's life and work I've read in forever. * Nick Gillespie *
Fascinatingly good....A fantastic work. * Tim Benson, Ill Literacy Podcast *
Book Information
ISBN 9780197651742
Author Jeffrey Edward Green
Format Hardback
Page Count 368
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 612g
Dimensions(mm) 221mm * 155mm * 33mm
