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Snarl: In Defense of Stalled Traffic and Faulty Networks
Ruth A. Miller
Ruth A. Miller excavates a centuries-old history of nonhuman and nonbiological constitutional engagement and outlines a robust mechanical democracy that challenges existing theories of liberal and human political participation. Drawing on an eclectic set of legal, political, and automotive texts from France, Turkey, and the United States, she proposes a radical mechanical re-articulation of three of the most basic principles of democracy: vitality, mobility, and liberty.
Rather than defending a grand theory of materialist or posthumanist politics, or addressing abstract concepts or "things" writ large, Miller invites readers into a self-contained history of constitutionalism situated in a focused discussion of automobile traffic congestion in Paris, Istanbul, and Boston. Within the mechanical public sphere created by automotive space, Snarl finds a model of democratic politics that transforms our most fundamental assumptions about the nature, and constitutional potential, of life, movement, and freedom.
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Cover
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Title
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Copyright
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Acknowledgments
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Contents
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1. Introduction: Mechanical Constitutionalism
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Constitutional History
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Constitutional Materiality
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Vitality, Mobility, and Liberty
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Conclusion
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2. Traffic: A Literature Review
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Traffic and the Public Sphere
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Traffic and Borders
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Traffic and Military Violence
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Traffic and Rights
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Traffic and Civilization
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Conclusion
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3. Networks: A Literature Review
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Networks and the Public Sphere
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Networks and Military Violence
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Networks and Speech: Machine Code versus Programming Language
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Conclusion
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4. Vitality
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Excavating the Automotive Public Sphere
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Parking
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Automotive Vitality: Storage and Circulation
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Conclusion
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5. Mobility
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Archiving the Automotive Public Sphere
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Bridge and Tunnel
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Automotive Mobility: Billboards and Monuments
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Conclusion
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6. Liberty
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Delimiting the Automotive Public Sphere
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No Crossing
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Automotive Liberty: Intersections and Pollution
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Conclusion
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7. Drones: A Case Study
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Vitality
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Mobility
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Liberty
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Conclusion: Theories of Freedom
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8. Conclusion: Stalled Traffic and Faulty Networks
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Why Should Humans Care?
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NOTES
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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INDEX
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Citable Link
Published: 2013
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
- 978-0-472-11900-4 (hardcover)
- 978-0-472-03621-9 (paper)
- 978-0-472-02950-1 (ebook)