Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 Situating Plato's Dialectical politics in Contemporary Debates Chapter 4 Penelope's Dialectical Weavings in Homer's Odyssey Chapter 5 Homespun Statesmanship and Political Peace in Aristophanes' Lysistrata Chapter 6 The Unraveling of Philosophy and Political Life in Plato's Statesman Chapter 7 The Socratic Interweaving of Philosophy and Politics in Plato's Phaedo Chapter 8 Conclusion
Lisa Pace Vetter is Assistant Professor of Government at American University.
In "Women's Work", Lisa Vetter makes a strong case for the
relevance of classical political philosophy to the concerns of
contemporary democratic theorists and feminists. Her suggestion
that philosophical inquiry is the warp through which the diverse
threads of our political fabric must be woven and rewoven rests
upon a scholarly appreciation of Plato as the supreme dialectical
weaver.
*Jacob Howland, McFarlin Professor of Philosophy, University of
Tulsa*
Lisa Vetter has written a fascinating and illuminating book on the
importance of images drawn from what the ancient sources treat as
the woman’s work of weaving for the “manly” work of statesmanship.
She concludes that an art traditionally seen as feminine provides
essential insights and guideposts for thoughtful, moderate and
effective citizenship. Her choice of weaving as the unifying theme
is inspired and important, both for what it suggests about the
meanings of that image within the texts of Homer, Aristophanes and
Plato and for the ways that it enables discussion of important
issues in postmodern political theory and gender studies.
*Gerald Mara, Executive Associate Dean of the Graduate School of
Arts and Sciences, Georgetown University*
Professor Vetter's absorbing analysis weaves contemporary questions
into a tapestry whose background is classical wisdom gleaned from
some of the most significant Greek texts and whose foreground
illuminates her fresh insights about the unique place of women in
philosophic dialectic and political debate.
*Leslie G. Rubin, Associate Director, Society for Greek Political
Thought*
A discursive approach which admits the global economy to political
scrutiny is urgently needed, and the contemporary work of women,
woven together across borders, spaces, cultures and generations, is
a good platform upon which to engender a dialectical commonness
which does not eliminate difference—an approach which is very much
in the spirit of Vetter's Plato.
*Political Studies Review*
First, the author presents with admirable clarity the way in which
the literary-dramatic form of the dialogues has democratic
implications in its dialectical invocation of a number of
contesting voices. Second, and perhaps more distinctively, the
author argues powerfully that such a democratically inclined
dialectic can be particularly fruitful in remedying some of the
inadequacies of the debate in contemporary feminist inquiry.
*Paul Stern, Professor of Politics and International Relations,
Ursinus College*
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