In both politics and art in recent decades, there has been a dramatic shift in emphasis on representation of identity. Liberal ideals of universality and individuality have given way to a concern with the visibility and recognition of underrepresented groups. Modernist and postmodernist celebrations of disruption and subversion have been challenged by the view that representation is integral to social change. Despite this convergence, neither political nor aesthetic theory has given much attention to the increasingly central role of art in debates and struggles over cultural identity in the public sphere. Connecting Hegelian aesthetics with contemporary cultural politics, Jason Miller argues that both the aesthetic and political value of art are found in the reflexive self-awareness that artistic representation enables. The significance of art in modern life is that it shows us both the particular element in humanity as well as the human element in particularity. Just as Hegel asks us to acknowledge how different historical and cultural contexts produce radically different experiences of art, identity-based art calls on its audiences to situate themselves in relation to perspectives and experiences potentially quite remote—or even inaccessible—from their own. Miller offers a timely response to questions such as: How does contemporary art’s politics of perception contest liberal notions of deliberative politics? How does the cultural identity of the artist relate to the representations of cultural identity in their work? How do we understand and evaluate identity-based art aesthetically? Discussing a wide range of works of art and popular culture—from Antigone to Do the Right Thing and The Wire—this book develops a new conceptual framework for understanding the representation of cultural identity that affirms art’s capacity to effect social change.

ジェイソン・ミラーの本作は、アイデンティティの政治をヘーゲル美学の視座から鮮烈に再構築した、知の格闘の記録です。アートがいかにして他者の視点への自己反省を促し、社会変革の種を蒔くのか。普遍性と特殊性の狭間で揺れる現代において、表現が持つ根源的な力を解き明かす、極めて情熱的で野心的な論考と言えるでしょう。 特筆すべきは、古典演劇から現代の映画やドラマまでを縦横無尽に横断し、表現の背後にある知覚の政治を暴き出す圧倒的な洞察力です。単なる権利の主張を超え、表現を通じて他者の内面に深くコミットするための新たな枠組みは、読者の世界観そのものを激しく揺さぶります。本書を手に取れば、日々享受する視覚文化が持つ真に革命的な意義を、かつてない解像度で捉え直すことができるはずです。