The Form and Function of Political Theorizing : Toward an 'Episodic' Political Theory

Though we often think in terms of 'big names' who write 'big books,' political theory has always appeared in many guises. The philosophical treatise stands alongside the political oration, the prison letter, the petition, the novel, the satirical send-up, the drama: all of these different prose forms (not to mention poetry, song, and visual media) have been used to communicate fundamental ideas about political legitimacy; the nature of liberty, authority, justice, and obligation; and the multifaceted relationship between individuals and the communities they inhabit. This paper, accordingly, explores the relationship between form (the genre in which a work of political theory appears), function (the theorist's aim or intention in producing that work), and content (the political commitments or principles the author attempts to communicate in political theory; and, after doing so, attempts to sketch out an alternate way of studying the history of political thought that follows from that multifaceted relationship