Sokolon, Smith and the impressive list of contributors to this book take ideas seriously, and see storytelling as a key to understanding political philosophy. Focusing on fictional sources of political thought, they see the democratic imagination of citizens enlivened, even shaped by poetry, narrative storytelling, and other non-traditional forms of literature. This important book, if paired with Thomas Cronin’s Imagining a Great Republic, will change the way we think about political philosophy and democratic citizenship.

Michael A. Genovese, President, Global Policy Institute, Loyola Marymount University

All too often in our democratic republic, the task of shaping the tastes, passions, and civic character required for responsible self-government falls not to our schools and educators, but to the 'storytellers' among us. The authors of the literary fiction, television, and cinema that we consume on a daily basis shape the way we think about, and thus act towards, our political institutions, obligations, and identities. Flattering the Demos shows us the dangers inherent in such an enterprise as well as the potential pathways for democratic renewal that storytelling, at its best, affords us.

Bernard J. Dobski, Assumption University

Sokolon and Smith’s Flattering the Demos is an enchanting read. The editors have taken great care to bring together a quorum of thoughtful authors who offer readers a wide range of approaches that challenge our attitudes towards literature and democratic education. Their collective voices invite readers to revisit a variety of genres, including tragi-comic dramatic plays, comic books and/or graphic novels, short stories, science fiction, film and television miniseries, both old and new.

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