Authority and trust in US culture and society: interdisciplinary approaches and perspectives

Cover -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- The Decline of Political Trust and the Rise of Populism in the United States -- Waning Trust in (Scientific) Experts and Expertise? -- Shifting Meridians of Global Authority -- Trust and the City -- "We must trust that look of hers" -- "We believe that we have a right to revelations, visions, and dreams from God" -- The Trust Debate in the Literature of the American Renaissance -- Authority, Genealogy, Infrastructure -- Shoppers, Worshippers, Culture Warriors -- List of Contributors.

In the past two decades, a discourse of crisis has emerged about the democratic institutions and political culture of the US: many structures of authority which people had more or less taken for granted are facing a massive public loss of trust. This volume takes an interdisciplinary and historical look at the transformations of authority and trust in the United States. The contributors examine government institutions, political parties, urban neighborhoods, scientific experts, international leadership, religious communities, and literary production. Exploring the nexus between authority and trust is crucial to understand the loss of legitimacy experienced by political, social, and cultural institutions not only in the United States but in Western democracies at large.