This is the second volume of Theweleit's extraordinary study of the fantasies of some of the men centrally involved in the rise of Nazism. The author develops his account by focusing on the representation of masculinity and homosexuality and their relation to the preparations for and conduct of war. He offers a psychoanalytic interpretation of the role of warfare as a search for sensation without desire or pleasure, leading to an image of the body which emphasizes hardness, self-discipline and, ultimately, violence.
This is much more than a book about culture of warfare: it is about sexuality and power, about gender, representation and violence. It is a document of our times which will be of interest to anyone concerned with modern history, contemporary politics and social, political and literary theory.
Paperback
Status
Available
Edition
First
Edition
ISBN
9780745605562
ISBN10
0745605567
Publication Dates ROW:
Sep 1989
Publication Dates US:
Publication Dates Aus & NZ:
Nov 1989
Format
229 x 152 mm
,
6 x 9 in
Pages
536
pages
* Exam copies only available to lecturers for whom the book may be suitable as a course text.
Please note: Sales representation and distribution for Polity titles is provided by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
'This is the first book to provide an original and imaginative interpretation of the image of women in the collective unconscious of the fascist "warrior" ... Already a classic in Germany, it has been enormously influential and has had a wide impact on an audience that goes well beyond the academic community."
Anson Rabinbach, Cooper Union 'Possibly the most stimulating German-language publication of the year. Theweleit is always informative.... A lavish analysis of a culture of male dominance and conquest.' Rudolf Augstein, Der Spiegel
Foreword.
Chapter 1: The Mass and Its Counterparts.
Chapter 2: Male Bodies and the 'White Terror.
Chapter 3: The White Terror as Bounding and Maintainance of the Self.
Conclusion.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.
Klaus Theweleit earned his Ph.D. in German Literature at the University of Friebourg and is now a freelance writer working in West Germany. He is the author of both
Male Fantasies (Polity Press, 1987) and
Male Fantasies, Volume 2 (Polity Press, 1989).
