{"product_id":"crowds-the-stadium-as-a-ritual-of-intensity-9781503628830","title":"Crowds: The Stadium as a Ritual of Intensity","description":"\u003cp\u003eAnyone who has ever experienced a sporting event in a large stadium knows the energy that emanates from stands full of fans cheering on their teams. Although \"the masses\" have long held a thoroughly bad reputation in politics and culture, literary critic and avid sports fan Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht finds powerful, as yet unexplored reasons to sing the praises of crowds. Drawing on his experiences as a spectator in the stadiums of South America, Germany, and the US, Gumbrecht presents the stadium as \"a ritual of intensity,\" thereby offering a different lens through which we might capture and even appreciate the dynamic of the masses.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn presenting this alternate view, Gumbrecht enters into conversation with thinkers who were more critical of the potential of the masses, such as Gustave Le Bon, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, José Ortega y Gasset, Elias Canetti, Siegfried Kracauer, T. W. Adorno, or Max Horkheimer. A preface explores college crowds as a uniquely specific phenomenon of American culture.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePairing philosophical rigor with the enthusiasm of a true fan, Gumbrecht writes from the inside and suggests that being part of a crowd opens us up to an experience beyond ourselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHans Ulrich Gumbrecht\u003c\/b\u003e is the Albert Guérard Professor in Literature Emeritus at Stanford University. His books written in English include \u003ci\u003eIn 1926\u003c\/i\u003e (1998), \u003ci\u003eProduction of Presence\u003c\/i\u003e (Stanford, 2004), \u003ci\u003eIn Praise of Athletic Beauty\u003c\/i\u003e (2006), \u003ci\u003eAtmosphere, Mood, Stimmung\u003c\/i\u003e (Stanford, 2012), \u003ci\u003eAfter 1945\u003c\/i\u003e (Stanford, 2013), and \u003ci\u003eOur Broad Present\u003c\/i\u003e (2014).\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Stanford Briefs","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50379121557778,"sku":"9781503628830","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b12d102d-ca1b-494e-9627-dbb8e179dc06.jpg?v=1728656549","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/crowds-the-stadium-as-a-ritual-of-intensity-9781503628830","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}