From novelists to political cartoonists, artists have long brought a unique perspective to important public discussions of social and political issues. Yet, fury and debate over the role of the artist has resulted in blacklisting, banning, and symbolically burning artists who use their work as a means of social critique and social change. The Art of Social Critique makes a case for the complexity of artistic ways of "seeing" social life - observing, analyzing and portraying society - by examining the interdisciplinary nature of imagination. The authors cover a range of novelists, painters, musicians, cartoonists, poets and others whose explorations of the human condition directly connect to complex methods of social inquiry often associated with other disciplines. Specific parallels are drawn between the social sciences and the theories, lenses, and aesthetics that allow these artists to gain a clearer view of social life. Artistic techniques, such as metaphor, caricature, and irony, are examined as unique methods of social inquiry, while the novelist and poet become ethnographers of social life. By treading the common ground between the arts, humanities and social sciences, The Art of Social Critique raises a number of important questions about the role of art in society: What are the relationships between imagination, creativity, perspective, experimentation and unveiling social life? How does the artistic perspective engage in representation, give voice, or unveil? How have artists examined the relationship between the individual and society, social structures, or social norms that we take for granted? Each chapter explores how the "artistic eye," as a form of qualitative social inquiry, helps both the artist and the audience arrive at a more complex understanding of society. From art as a social movement to the important relationship between art and collective memory, The Art of Social Critique covers imagination as an interdisciplinary concept that draws on the sociological, psychological, historical, and political. Together these essays reveal art as more than mere entertainment or amusement - it is an interdisciplinary way of knowing our social world.

With the rise of President Trump, many are coming to question where the United States (U.S.) is headed and, whether we might witness an imperial decline under Trump. Social scientists largely recognize the contemporary hegemonic position of the U.S. at the global level, but questions persist concerning the future of the U.S. Empire. With the Trump Administration at the helm, these questions are all the more salient. Drawing on the expertise of a panel of contributors and guided by Michael Mann's model of power, this book critically interrogates the future of U.S. global power and provides insights on what we might expect from the U.S. Empire under Trump. Recognizing that U.S. imperial power involves an array of sources of power (ideological, economic, military, and political), the contributors analyze the Trump Administration's approach towards nine countries in the Western Hemisphere, and five sets of global policies, including inter-American relations, drugs, trade, the environment, and immigration. Each case presents a historical look at the trajectory of relations as they have developed under Trump and what we might expect in the future from the administration. The Future of U.S. Empire in the Americas will be of great interest to students and scholars of U.S. foreign policy, Foreign Policy Analysis, political sociology, and American politics.

With the rise of President Trump, many are coming to question where the United States (U.S.) is headed and, whether we might witness an imperial decline under Trump. Social scientists largely recognize the contemporary hegemonic position of the U.S. at the global level, but questions persist concerning the future of the U.S. Empire. With the Trump Administration at the helm, these questions are all the more salient. Drawing on the expertise of a panel of contributors and guided by Michael Mann's model of power, this book critically interrogates the future of U.S. global power and provides insights on what we might expect from the U.S. Empire under Trump. Recognizing that U.S. imperial power involves an array of sources of power (ideological, economic, military, and political), the contributors analyze the Trump Administration's approach towards nine countries in the Western Hemisphere, and five sets of global policies, including inter-American relations, drugs, trade, the environment, and immigration. Each case presents a historical look at the trajectory of relations as they have developed under Trump and what we might expect in the future from the administration. The Future of U.S. Empire in the Americas will be of great interest to students and scholars of U.S. foreign policy, Foreign Policy Analysis, political sociology, and American politics.

Since the end of World War II, the United States has come to dominate the world economically and politically, leading many to describe the United States as an empire. Scholars have analyzed how the US government has worked through international financial institutions, its Central Intelligence Agency, and outright warfare to achieve its will. In this book, Timothy M. Gill spotlights how the US government also worked through democracy promotion to undermine governments abroad, including in Venezuela. President Hugo Chávez, who ruled from 1999 until his death in 2013, was among the democratically elected Latin American state leaders who embraced socialism and challenged the idea of US global power. Gill shows how US government agencies funded and trained opposition parties and activists, and how such intervention often was justified in neocolonial and racist terms. Through analysis of documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, embassy cables, and interviews with US government and Venezuelan nonprofit members, Gill details such operations and the imperial thinking behind them.