Essays on Sex and Citizenship, have garnered much critical acclaim. A fast rising luminary of cultural criticism, Lauren Berlant delivers devastating critiques of contemporary discourses of American citizenship and a powerful analysis of current political representations. She addresses the triumphs of the idea of private life over that of public life and argues that the political public sphere has become an intimate public sphere. Berlant has shown how public representations of citizenship have led to an idealization of the child as the potentially perfect citizen whom parents must nurture and protect. She asks why have the contemporary ideal of citizenship is measured by personal and private acts and values rather than civic acts.
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Last updated January 13, 1999.