Sing the Rage: Listening to Anger after Mass Violence

251 Pages·2014·1.148 MB·English

by  Sonali Chakravarti

Sing the Rage

Sing the Rage
Listening to Anger after Mass Violence
sonali chakr avarti
the university of chicago press chicago and london
sonali chakravarti is assistant professor of government at Wesleyan University.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2014 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2014.
Printed in the United States of America
23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 1 2 3 4 5
isbn-13: 978-0-226-11998-4 (cloth)
isbn-13: 978-0-226-12004-1 (e-book)
doi: 10.7208/chicago/9780226120041.001.0001 (e-book)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chakravarti, Sonali, author.
Sing the rage : listening to anger after mass violence / Sonali Chakravarti.
pages ; cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-226-11998-4 (cloth : alkaline paper) — isbn 978-0-226-12004-1 (e-book)
1. Anger—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Anger—Philosophy. 3. Justice
(Philosophy) 4. Nuremberg War Crime Trials, Nuremberg, Germany, 1946–
1949. 5. Arendt, Hannah, 1906–1975. 6. Eichmann, Adolf, 1906–1962—Trials,
litigation, etc. 7. South Africa. Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I. Title.
bj1535.a6c45 2014
179′.8—dc23
2013027390
This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
To my parents,
Rupali and Pradip Chakravarti,
and my brother, Devjit
Sing—Goddess—the rage of Achilles, the son of Peleus,
that brought countless ills upon the Athenians
homer, The Iliad
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
chapter 1. More Than Cheap Sentimentality:
Victim Testimony at the Nuremberg Trials, the
Eichmann Trial, and the South African Truth and
Reconciliation Commission 24
chapter 2. Confronting Anger:
Where the South African TRC Fell Short 57
chapter 3. The First Skeptic:
Hannah Arendt and the Danger of Victim Testimony 79
chapter 4. The Second Skeptic:
Adam Smith and the Visualization of Sympathy 106
chapter 5. Three Values of Anger 127
chapter 6. Trust Enough to Tarry 154
Epilogue 172
Notes 177
Bibliography 219
Index 231

Acknowledgments
Ih ad the good fortune to be affi liated with several institutions that pro-
vided support for this book, including the Ann Plato Fellowship at
Trinity College, the Center for Humanities at Wesleyan University, the
Centennial Center at the American Political Science Association, and
the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. The
book was conceived under the wise and incisive guidance of Seyla Ben-
habib, whose infl uence is strong in these pages. Bryan Garsten has been
a generous adviser and interlocutor. Many thanks to Ange-Marie Han-
cock, whose approach to interdisciplinary work continues to inspire, and
to John McCormick for his astute counsel. I am grateful to Don Moon,
Nancy Schwartz, and Stephen Angle at Wesleyan University for their
feedback and warm encouragement. Sharon Krause and Colin Leach
provided helpful comments at exactly the right time. I benefi ted much
from exchanges with Ernesto Verdeja, Andrew Schaap, Richard Wilson,
Bonnie Honig, and Christina Tarnopolsky.
Yves Winter, Katherine Lemons, and Joshua Chambers-Letson of-
fered camaraderie and freewheeling conversations, scholarly and other-
wise. Kushanava Choudhury and Shatema Threadcraft reminded me
when to leave academic conventions behind in pursuit of other ideals.
Eirene Visvardi helped with the title and with many of the ideas along
the way. Neetu Khanna was there to celebrate the small achievements.
Joe Scheier-Dolberg and Sarah Benis Scheier-Dolberg gave me, in
so many ways, a home in New York City. I was nurtured by the kind-
ness and intellectual curiosity of Bethany Robertson, Peter Murray, Ra-
chel Mumford, and Jason Mumford. Cecilia Tsu offered many opportu-
nities to pick fruit. For her steadfast care and sisterhood, I thank Reena
Vaidya Krishna. While accompanying me on this path, Supriya Kota