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From climate change to nuclear war to the rise of demagogic populists, our world is shaped by doomsday expectations. In this path-breaking book, Alison McQueen shows why three of history's greatest political realists feared apocalyptic politics. Niccolò Machiavelli in the midst of Italy's vicious power struggles, Thomas Hobbes during England's bloody civil war, and Hans Morgenthau at the dawn of the thermonuclear age all saw the temptation to prophesy the end of days. Each engaged in subtle and surprising strategies to oppose apocalypticism, from using its own rhetoric to neutralize its worst effects to insisting on a clear-eyed, tragic acceptance of the human condition. Scholarly yet accessible, this book is at once an ambitious contribution to the history of political thought and a work that speaks to our times

The notion of apocalypse is an age-old concept which has gained renewed interest in popular and scholarly discourse. The book highlights the versatile explications of apocalypse today, demonstrating that apocalyptic transformations – the various encounters with anthropogenic climate change, nuclear violence, polarized politics, colonial assault, and capitalist extractivism – navigate a range of interdisciplinary views on the present moment. Moving from old worlds to new worlds, from world-ending experiences to apocalyptic imaginaries and, finally, from authoritarianism to activism and advocacy, the contributions begin to map the emerging field of Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies. Foregrounding the myriad ways in which collective imaginations of apocalypse underpin ethical, political, and, sometimes, individual experience, the authors provide key points of reference for understanding old and new predicaments that are transforming our many worlds. ; The notion of apocalypse is an age-old concept which has gained renewed interest in popular and scholarly discourse. The book highlights the versatile explications of apocalypse today, demonstrating that apocalyptic transformations – the various encounters with anthropogenic climate change, nuclear violence, polarized politics, colonial assault, and capitalist extractivism – navigate a range of interdisciplinary views on the present moment. Moving from old worlds to new worlds, from world-ending experiences to apocalyptic imaginaries and, finally, from authoritarianism to activism and advocacy, the contributions begin to map the emerging field of Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies. Foregrounding the myriad ways in which collective imaginations of apocalypse underpin ethical, political, and, sometimes, individual experience, the authors provide key points of reference for understanding old and new predicaments that are transforming our many worlds.

Intro -- Preface -- References -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Eschatology and the Theory of Apocalypse -- Introduction -- Mythology and Social Sciences -- Mircea Eliade and the Myth of Eternal Return -- The Fourth Turning -- The Theory of Apocalypse Explained with Clarity -- The Theory of Apocalypse and Cinema -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 2: Interrogating on the Essence of the Zombie World -- Introduction -- The Literature and Cinema As Anthropological Fields -- Seeing Is Believing -- The Sociology of the Zombie -- World War Z (A Max Brooks Novel) -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 3: The Undesired Other -- Introduction -- The American Exceptionalism -- Terror and Humanitarian Reasons -- What Is Wrong with Feminism? -- The Abortion and the End of Hospitality -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 4: The War on Terror -- Introduction -- Sociology After 9/11 -- The Preventive Wars -- The Problem of the Precautionary Principle -- How Terrorism Is Changing Us -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 5: Tourism in the Days of Morbid Consumption -- Introduction -- Preliminary Debate -- The Rationality of Development -- Tourism, Colonialism and Development -- Thinking Ethics in Tourism -- Is Rationality the Heart of the Market? -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 6: Israel State, Genocide and Thana-Capitalism -- Introduction -- The Anthropology of Holocaust -- Modernity and the Consumption of Death -- What Is Thana-Capitalism? -- The State of Israel and the Power of Prophecy -- What Is the Role of Prophecy in This Process? -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 7: Disasters in the Society of Fear -- Introduction -- Humanitarian Disasters -- The Narratives of Disasters -- Understanding Resilience: An Anthropological Viewpoint -- Poverty in Perspective -- The Nature of Pain in the Society of Fear -- The Ideological Core of Poverty -- Conclusion.

The notion of apocalypse is an age-old concept which has gained renewed interest in popular and scholarly discourse. The book highlights the versatile explications of apocalypse today, demonstrating that apocalyptic transformations - the various encounters with anthropogenic climate change, nuclear violence, polarized politics, colonial assault, and capitalist extractivism - navigate a range of interdisciplinary views on the present moment. Moving from old worlds to new worlds, from world-ending experiences to apocalyptic imaginaries and, finally, from authoritarianism to activism and advocacy, the contributions begin to map the emerging field of Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies. Foregrounding the myriad ways in which collective imaginations of apocalypse underpin ethical, political, and, sometimes, individual experience, the authors provide key points of reference for understanding old and new predicaments that are transforming our many worlds

Linking literature from the sociological study of the apocalyptic with the sociology and philosophy of science, Apocalyptic Narratives explores how the apocalyptic narrative frames and provides meaning to contemporary, secular and scientific crises, focussing on nuclear war, general environmental crisis and climate change in both English and German speaking cultural contexts. In particular, the book will use social identity and representation theories, the sociologies of risk and Lakatos' philosophy of science to trace how our cultural background and apocalyptic tradition shape our wider interpretation, communication and response to contemporary global crisis. The set of environmental and other challenges that the world is facing is often framed in terms of apocalyptic or existential crisis. Yet apocalyptic fears about the near future are nothing new. This book looks at the narrative connections between our current sense of crisis and the apocalyptic. The book will be of interest to readers interested in environmental crisis and communication, the sociology and philosophy of science and existential risk, but also to readers interested in the apocalyptic and its contemporary relevance

Visions of the American city in post-apocalyptic ruin permeate literary and popular fiction, across print, visual, audio and digital media. American Cities in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction explores the prevalence of these representations in American culture, drawing from a wide range of primary and critical works from the early-twentieth century to today. Beginning with science fiction in literary magazines, before taking in radio dramas, film, video games and expansive transmedia franchises, Robert Yeates argues that post-apocalyptic representations of the American city are uniquely suited for explorations of contemporary urban issues. Examining how the post-apocalyptic American city has been repeatedly adapted and repurposed to new and developing media over the last century, this book reveals that the content and form of such texts work together to create vivid and immersive fictional spaces in ways that would otherwise not be possible. Chapters present media-specific analyses of these texts, situating them within their historical contexts and the broader history of representations of urban ruins in American fiction. Original in its scope and cross-media approach, American Cities in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction both illuminates little-studied texts and provides provocative new readings of familiar works such as Blade Runner and The Walking Dead, placing them within the larger historical context of imaginings of the American city in ruins.

Apocalyptic scenarios remain prevalent and powerful in popular culture (in television, film, comic books, and popular fiction), in politics (in debates on climate change, environmentalism, Middle East policy, and military planning), and in various religious traditions. Academic interest in apocalypticism is flourishing; indeed, the study of both ancient and contemporary apocalyptic phenomena has long been a focus of attention in scholarly research and a ready way to engage the religious studies classroom. Apocalypses in Context is designed for just such a classroom, bringing together the insights of scholars in various fields and using different methods to discuss the manifestations of apocalyptic enthusiasm in different ages (Part I: Ancient Apocalyptic Literature; Part II: Apocalypticism through the Ages; Part III: Apocalypticism in the Contemporary World). This approach enables the instructor to make connections and students to recognize continuities and contrasts across history. Apocalypses in Context features illustrations, graphs, study questions, and suggestions for further reading after each chapter, as well as recommended media and artwork to support the college classroom

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- List of abbreviations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- PART I Roots of the apocalyptic worldview -- 1 The original Book of Revelation -- 2 By this sign you will conquer: transformations of the Book of Revelation -- PART II The apocalyptic formula and terrorism -- 3 How not to make a terrorist: peaceful vs. radical apocalypticism -- 4 "One who swims in the sea does not fear rain": Al Qaeda and Sunni radical apocalypticism -- 5 The case of the self- declared "Islamic State": ISIS/ISIL -- 6 "The Lord God is a Man of War": Christian Identity teaching and radical apocalyptic terrorism -- 7 The humanpox versus green fire: eco-terrorists and eco-activists -- 8 Bringing Armageddon: Aum Shinrikyo -- PART III Conclusion -- 9 Creating peace in an apocalyptic moment -- Index.