{"product_id":"systems-from-hell-david-a-rochefort-9798855800258","title":"Systems from Hell: Problem Definition and the Literary Portrayal of Failure in Our Public Policy and Social Institutions","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExamines how contemporary novels document and define social problems using a variety of narrative techniques to focus attention on systemic failure.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book approaches contemporary fiction as a medium for policy advocacy, one whose narrative devices both link it to, and distinguish it from, other forms of public discourse. Using the framework of political agenda setting, David A. Rochefort analyzes the rhetorical function of problem definition played by literary works when they document and characterize social issues while sounding the call for systemic reform. Focusing on a group of noteworthy realist novels by American authors over the past twenty years, this study maintains that fictional narrative is a potentially influential instrument of \"empathic policy argument.\" The book closes by examining the agenda-setting dynamics through which a social problem novel can contribute to the process of policy change.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David a. Rochefort\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798855800258\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e State University of New York Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/02\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 300\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.89lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.68d","brand":"David a. Rochefort","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48440495112447,"sku":"9798855800258","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_a6bd6c97-7946-4469-9287-8348fd3d73da.jpg?v=1777182812","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/systems-from-hell-david-a-rochefort-9798855800258","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}