Join Books.org — it's free

United States History - 20th Century - General & Miscellaneous, Political Activism & Participation, Democracy & Republicanism, Civil & Human Rights, United States History - 20th Century - 1945 to 2000, U.S. Politics - History, U.S. Politics - General & Mi
Reclaiming Democracy by Meta Mendel-Reyes β€” book cover

Reclaiming Democracy

by Meta Mendel-Reyes
Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Log in to track your reading progress.

Overview

Meta Mendel-Reyes provides a critical look at our fascination with the sixties, discusses the ways in which democratic participation was at the heart of sixties politics, and explores the interrelationship between the history and memory of the sixties and contemporary democratic politics.

Mendel-Reyes stresses that if told properly, the story of the sixties could help open our eyes to the possibility that ordinary people can take democratic action and do have the ability to make a difference in nineties politics.

In a time of cynicism about the American government's ability to solve the crises of inequality, poverty and racism, Mendel-Reyes puts the decline of political participation in historical context and provides hope for the coming decades.

As it challenges a wide range of sixties observers--from George Will to Oliver Stone--Reclaiming Democracy provides a much-needed critical look at our fascination with the sixties and colorfully brings to life the significant role that our memories of that time play in the politics and culture of today.

About the Author, Meta Mendel-Reyes

Meta Mendel-Reyes is Assistant Professor of Political Science, and the Director of the Democracy Project, at Swarthmore College.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Library Journal

Part personal memoir of the author's experiences as a labor organizer in the 1970s, part scholarly analysis of the 1960s political and social movements Civil Rights, anti-Vietnam War protests, and part cheerleading for the value of participatory democracy in the future of America, this well-written but repetitive extended essay argues that the 1960s' main legacy to the 1990s lies in the idea of participatory politics. Though Mendel-Reyes, a college political science instructor, is critical of the decade's excesses and weaknesses-disorganization, mindlessness, self-destructiveness-she believes that the remarkable achievements of the Civil Rights movement in destroying legal segregation and the peace movement in ending the Vietnam War were due to the involvement of so many Americans in the process of political change. Though earnestly urging Americans to extract from U.S. history the spirit of participatory democracy, she offers little guidance on how to do this. An ambivalent defense of the 1960s mixed with a strong statement of political belief; for academic and larger public libraries.-Jack Forman, Mesa Coll. Lib., San Diego

Booknews

The three-volume set collects for reprint original essays, diary entries, and biographical recollections written by contemporaries and sometimes friends of Shelley, Byron, and Wordsworth. An important source for romantic poetry scholars, the writings provide insights into the lives of the three artists without the inevitable jadedness a contemporary critique must bring (to be worth its salt) in a postmodern society. Each volume includes selected commentary and introductions written by scholars in the field. Lacks an index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Book Details

Published
August 29, 1996
Publisher
New York : Routledge, 1995.
Pages
238
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780415918206

More by Meta Mendel-Reyes

Similar books