Smoke and Mirrors
The Hidden Context of Violence in Schools and Society
Published on 18. October 2000
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-0-8476-9562-1 (ISBN)
Description
Many of our countryOs children face daily a threat to their personal safety and well-being. As school boards, law enforcement officials, and policymakers continue to look for ways to stop youth violence in urban and suburban schools, not enough attention is paid to eradicating the socioeconomic and cultural conditions that give rise to these acts. In this timely and thought-provoking collection, seasoned educators and cultural theorists emphasize this connection between youth violence and the realities faced by many children-poverty, racism, unequal opportunity, and the mediaOs glorification of violence.
Reviews / Votes
This edited volume is an interesting collection of essays that provides a passionate cultural critique of American democracy and the failure of its social institutions to reduce violence and promote social justice.The articles stretch our definition of violence and its causes, including thought provoking critiques of gender ideology and the destruction of humanity through oppressive social structures. The book is extremely well written. * Contemporary Sociology * Readers will appreaciate the honesty in this book. Smoke and Mirrors challenges us. It asks us to take responsibility for ourselves and to help our children. * Jac * A collection of ten wide-ranging and provocative essays that is assembled as a multi-sited ethnography. * Theory and Psychology * While policy makers are demanding zero tolerance, metal detectors, high stakes testing, criminalization of and Prozac for youth, all of which serve to sever the ties between youth, schools, and community, the writers in this text commit to a deep, provocative analysis of the thick social context that has produced, and can mediate, youth violence. This book has none of the 'smoke' mentioned in its title; much is revealed and little clouded over. But true to the title, this book reads like a cultural mirror-a terrifying reflection of late capitalist America as a factory for youth alienation and violence. The writers insist that educators, activists, communities, academics, parents, and policy makers attend critically to the ways in which we have contributed to the production of 'youth violence.' -- Michelle Fine, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Lanham, MD
United States
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
508 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8476-9562-1 (9780847695621)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Stephanie Urso Spina is a Ph.D. candidate in social/personality psychology at the Graduate School of the City University of New York. She received her masters of Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University.
Content
Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Introduction: Violence in Schools: Expanding the Dialogue Chapter 3 Wearing the Colors: A Personal Narrative from a "Diehard Educator" Chapter 4 On Living (and Dying) with Violence: Entering Young Voices in the Discourse Chapter 5 Rated "CV" for Cool Violence Chapter 6 Representations of Violence, Popular Culture, and Demonization of Youth Chapter 7 America's Dead-end Kids Chapter 8 Masculinity Matters: The Omission of Gender from High-Profile School Violence Cases Chapter 9 Scientism and the Ideological Construction of Violence, Poverty, and Racism Chapter 10 The Psychology of Violence and the Violence of Psychology Chapter 11 Essay on Violence Chapter 12 When the Smoke Clears: Revisualizing Responses to Violence in Schools