Reviews
"We self-proclaimed moderns (or postmoderns) are never more at risk of flattering self-delusion than when declaring ourselves free from the taint of some 'antiquated' style of thought.Drawing upon a wide range and more than a century's worth of literary, philosophical, and sociological texts, Pecora's book presents a forceful and wholly persuasive case that disrupts the 'secularization story' that has ruled most narratives about the advent of Western modernity.I can think of few works of recent cultural criticism that can compare with this incisive analysis of a whole tradition of modern social thought and representation, and of none at all that speak more trenchantly to the question of religion's persistence-not only among 'jihadists' opposed to U.S.-imposed 'McWorldism,' or among members of 'the religious Right' dreaming of days that never were, but in covert operation within the very discourses of modernization that purported to 'transcend' religion.Both steeped in tradition and eminently of our moment, this book exemplifies what cultural criticism is for ."-James Buzard, author of Disorienting Fiction: The Autoethnographic Work of Nineteenth-Century British Novels, "We self-proclaimed moderns (or postmoderns) are never more at risk of flattering self-delusion than when declaring ourselves free from the taint of some antiquated' style of thought. Drawing upon a wide range and more than a century's worth of literary, philosophical, and sociological texts, Pecora's book presents a forceful and wholly persuasive case that disrupts the secularization story' that has ruled most narratives about the advent of Western modernity. I can think of few works of recent cultural criticism that can compare with this incisive analysis of a whole tradition of modern social thought and representation, and of none at all that speak more trenchantly to the question of religion's persistence-not only among jihadists' opposed to U.S.-imposed McWorldism, ' or among members of the religious Right' dreaming of days that never were, but in covert operation within the very discourses of modernization that purported to transcend' religion. Both steeped in tradition and eminently of our moment, this book exemplifies what cultural criticism is "for,""-James Buzard, author of "Disorienting Fiction: The Autoethnographic Work of Nineteenth-Century British Novels", Vincent Pecora's important new book offers a powerful meditation on the complexities of secularization in modernity. His wide-ranging analysis reconstructs the rich intellectual history surrounding secularism and provides a compelling framework for understanding the ambiguous persistence of religious concepts and forms in modern thought, literature, and institutions. This is a superb study, one whose capacious insights move beyond some of the more entrenched divides in the debates over the project of modernity and the ongoing task of the humanities., "At a moment of frightening emergency for Edward Said's secular ideal, Vincent Pecora offers an ingenious and innovative defense: he concedes the ideal's ambiguities, fills in its compromising history of continuing engagement with religious tradition, and sets up a subtle and judicious negotiation with its detractors in which they too are asked to concede their deep complicity with the secularism they oppose. This work of high and generous intelligence shows us interdisciplinarity in the most visibly valuable sense."-Bruce Robbins, author of Feeling Global: Internationalism in Distress, Vincent Pecora's important new book offers a powerful meditation on the complexities of secularization in modernity. His wide-ranging analysis reconstructs the rich intellectual history surrounding secularism and provides a compelling framework for understanding the ambiguous persistence of religious concepts and forms in modern thought, literature, and institutions. This is a superb study, one whose capacious insights move beyond some of the more entrenched divides in the debates over the project of modernity and the ongoing task of the humanities., At a moment of frightening emergency for Edward Said's secular ideal, Vincent Pecora offers an ingenious and innovative defense: he concedes the ideal's ambiguities, fills in its compromising history of continuing engagement with religious tradition, and sets up a subtle and judicious negotiation with its detractors in which they too are asked to concede their deep complicity with the secularism they oppose. This work of high and generous intelligence shows us interdisciplinarity in the most visibly valuable sense., "Comprehensive in its scope and timely in its topic, Secularization and Cultural Criticism incisively analyzes the religious heritage of secular thinking within the human sciences today.By focusing on the ambiguous and contradictory development of the secularization process in the modern world, Pecora convincingly demonstrates how religion continues to haunt even the most secular critical efforts to understand our contemporary situation. This remarkable book will help all of us deal more effectively with the complex reemergence of political theology in national and global culture."- Steven Mailloux, author of Reception Histories: Rhetoric, Pragmatism, and American Cultural Politics, Comprehensive in its scope and timely in its topic, Secularization and Cultural Criticism incisively analyzes the religious heritage of secular thinking within the human sciences today. By focusing on the ambiguous and contradictory development of the secularization process in the modern world, Pecora convincingly demonstrates how religion continues to haunt even the most secular critical efforts to understand our contemporary situation. This remarkable book will help all of us deal more effectively with the complex reemergence of political theology in national and global culture., The key to Pecora's argument here is not that Durkheim . . . was mistaken or confused, but rather that this very tension is a symptom of the 'necessarily distorting consequences of Western secularization.' Pecora's triumph in this book is to give us a rich account of those distortions and their ramifications for cultural theory., "Vincent Pecora's important new book offers a powerful meditation on the complexities of secularization in modernity. His wide-ranging analysis reconstructs the rich intellectual history surrounding secularism and provides a compelling framework for understanding the ambiguous persistence of religious concepts and forms in modern thought, literature, and institutions. This is a superb study, one whose capacious insights move beyond some of the more entrenched divides in the debates over the project of modernity and the ongoing task of the humanities."-Amanda Anderson, author of The Way We Argue Now: A Study in the Cultures of Theory, "Vincent Pecora's important new book offers a powerful meditation on the complexities of secularization in modernity. His wide-ranging analysis reconstructs the rich intellectual history surrounding secularism and provides a compelling framework for understanding the ambiguous persistence of religious concepts and forms in modern thought, literature, and institutions.This is a superb study, one whose capacious insights move beyond some of the more entrenched divides in the debates over the project of modernity and the ongoing task of the humanities."-Amanda Anderson, author of The Way We Argue Now: A Study in the Cultures of Theory, "At a moment of frightening emergency for Edward Said's secular ideal, Vincent Pecora offers an ingenious and innovative defense: he concedes the ideal's ambiguities, fills in its compromising history of continuing engagement with religious tradition, and sets up a subtle and judicious negotiation with its detractors in which they too are asked to concede their deep complicity with the secularism they oppose. This work of high and generous intelligence shows us interdisciplinarity in the most visibly valuable sense."-Bruce Robbins, author of "Feeling Global: Internationalism in Distress", We self-proclaimed moderns (or postmoderns) are never more at risk of flattering self-delusion than when declaring ourselves free from the taint of some 'antiquated' style of thought. Drawing upon a wide range and more than a century's worth of literary, philosophical, and sociological texts, Pecora's book presents a forceful and wholly persuasive case that disrupts the 'secularization story' that has ruled most narratives about the advent of Western modernity. I can think of few works of recent cultural criticism that can compare with this incisive analysis of a whole tradition of modern social thought and representation, and of none at all that speak more trenchantly to the question of religion's persistence-not only among 'jihadists' opposed to U.S.-imposed 'McWorldism,' or among members of 'the religious Right' dreaming of days that never were, but in covert operation within the very discourses of modernization that purported to 'transcend' religion. Both steeped in tradition and eminently of our moment, this book exemplifies what cultural criticism is for ., We self-proclaimed moderns (or postmoderns) are never more at risk of flattering self-delusion than when declaring ourselves free from the taint of some 'antiquated' style of thought. Drawing upon a wide range and more than a century's worth of literary, philosophical, and sociological texts, Pecora's book presents a forceful and wholly persuasive case that disrupts the 'secularization story' that has ruled most narratives about the advent of Western modernity. I can think of few works of recent cultural criticism that can compare with this incisive analysis of a whole tradition of modern social thought and representation, and of none at all that speak more trenchantly to the question of religion's persistence--not only among 'jihadists' opposed to U.S.-imposed 'McWorldism,' or among members of 'the religious Right' dreaming of days that never were, but in covert operation within the very discourses of modernization that purported to 'transcend' religion. Both steeped in tradition and eminently of our moment, this book exemplifies what cultural criticism is for ., "Comprehensive in its scope and timely in its topic, Secularization and Cultural Criticism incisively analyzes the religious heritage of secular thinking within the human sciences today. By focusing on the ambiguous and contradictory development of the secularization process in the modern world, Pecora convincingly demonstrates how religion continues to haunt even the most secular critical efforts to understand our contemporary situation. This remarkable book will help all of us deal more effectively with the complex reemergence of political theology in national and global culture."- Steven Mailloux, author of Reception Histories: Rhetoric, Pragmatism, and American Cultural Politics, The key to Pecora''s argument here is not that Durkheim . . . was mistaken or confused, but rather that this very tension is a symptom of the ''necessarily distorting consequences of Western secularization.'' Pecora''s triumph in this book is to give us a rich account of those distortions and their ramifications for cultural theory., Vincent Pecora's book is a timely and invigorating study of the predicament of cultural criticism as it confronts a global resurgence of religious movements that contest the process and meaning of secularization. He conducts a masterful analysis of the paradoxes afflicting a criticism that is the unrecognized effect of the secularization it describes. Pecora's work brilliantly illuminates the obstacles that impede the 'unfinished project of modernity' and impressively performs the 'dynamic understanding of secularization' which, he suggests, is cultural criticism's best way forward., "Vincent Pecora's important new book offers a powerful meditation on the complexities of secularization in modernity. His wide-ranging analysis reconstructs the rich intellectual history surrounding secularism and provides a compelling framework for understanding the ambiguous persistence of religious concepts and forms in modern thought, literature, and institutions. This is a superb study, one whose capacious insights move beyond some of the more entrenched divides in the debates over the project of modernity and the ongoing task of the humanities."-Amanda Anderson, author of The Way We Argue Now: A Study in the Cultures of Theory, Comprehensive in its scope and timely in its topic, Secularization and Cultural Criticism incisively analyzes the religious heritage of secular thinking within the human sciences today. By focusing on the ambiguous and contradictory development of the secularization process in the modern world, Pecora convincingly demonstrates how religion continues to haunt even the most secular critical efforts to understand our contemporary situation. This remarkable book will help all of us deal more effectively with the complex reemergence of political theology in national and global culture., "Vincent Pecora's book is a timely and invigorating study of the predicament of cultural criticism as it confronts a global resurgence of religious movements that contest the process and meaning of secularization. He conducts a masterful analysis of the paradoxes afflicting a criticism that is the unrecognized effect of the secularization it describes. Pecora's work brilliantly illuminates the obstacles that impede the 'unfinished project of modernity' and impressively performs the 'dynamic understanding of secularization' which, he suggests, is cultural criticism's best way forward."- Jerome Christensen, author of Romanticism at the End of History, "We self-proclaimed moderns (or postmoderns) are never more at risk of flattering self-delusion than when declaring ourselves free from the taint of some 'antiquated' style of thought. Drawing upon a wide range and more than a century's worth of literary, philosophical, and sociological texts, Pecora's book presents a forceful and wholly persuasive case that disrupts the 'secularization story' that has ruled most narratives about the advent of Western modernity. I can think of few works of recent cultural criticism that can compare with this incisive analysis of a whole tradition of modern social thought and representation, and of none at all that speak more trenchantly to the question of religion's persistence-not only among 'jihadists' opposed to U.S.-imposed 'McWorldism,' or among members of 'the religious Right' dreaming of days that never were, but in covert operation within the very discourses of modernization that purported to 'transcend' religion. Both steeped in tradition and eminently of our moment, this book exemplifies what cultural criticism is for ."-James Buzard, author of Disorienting Fiction: The Autoethnographic Work of Nineteenth-Century British Novels
