{"product_id":"9780817383558","title":"Founding Fictions","description":"  Part political history, part rhetorical criticism, \u003ci\u003eFounding Fictions\u003c\/i\u003e is an extended analysis of how Americans imagined themselves as citizens between 1764 and 1845. It critically re-interrogates our fundamental assumptions about a government based upon the will of the people, with profound implications for our ability to assess democracy today.  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eFounding Fictions\u003c\/i\u003e develops the concept of a “political fiction,” or a narrative that people tell about their own political theories, and analyzes how republican and democratic fictions positioned American citizens as either romantic heroes, tragic victims, or ironic partisans.  By re-telling the stories that Americans have told themselves about citizenship, Mercieca highlights an important contradiction in American political theory and practice: that national stability and active citizen participation are perceived as fundamentally at odds.","brand":"University of Alabama Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47080549810416,"sku":"9780817383558","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780817383558_p0.jpg?v=1763747611","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780817383558","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}