Product Description: Bratina studied a group of Latino males to examine how attitudes that endorse the use of violence are influenced by assimilation. The sample was partially derived from Social Networking Sites (SNS) including MySpace and Facebook. The primary expectation was that pro-violent attitudes would vary depending on level of assimilation...read more

A provocative book about rethinking hatred and violence in America  Over the centuries American society has been plagued by brutality fueled by disregard for the humanity of others: systemic violence against Native peoples, black people, and immigrants. More recent examples include the Steubenville rape case and the murders of Matthew Shepard, Jennifer Daugherty, Marcelo Lucero, and Trayvon Martin. Most Americans see such acts as driven by hate. But is this right? Longtime activists and political theorists Kay Whitlock and Michael Bronski boldly assert that American society’s reliance on the framework of hate to explain these acts is wrongheaded, misleading, and ultimately harmful. All too often Americans choose to believe that terrible cruelty is aberrant, caused primarily by “extremists” and misfits. The inevitable remedy of intensified government-based policing, increased surveillance, and harsher punishments has never worked and does not work now. Stand-your-ground laws; the US prison system; police harassment of people of color, women, and LGBT people; and the so-called war on terror demonstrate that the remedies themselves are forms of institutionalized violence. Considering Hate challenges easy assumptions and failed solutions, arguing that “hate violence” reflects existing cultural norms. Drawing upon social science, philosophy, theology, film, and literature, the authors examine how hate and common, even ordinary, forms of individual and group violence are excused and normalized in popular culture and political discussion. This massive denial of brutal reality profoundly warps society’s ideas about goodness and justice.Whitlock and Bronski invite readers to radically reimagine the meaning and structures of justice within a new framework of community wholeness, collective responsibility, and civic goodness.

Now in a new edition, Criminal Violence: Patterns, Causes, and Prevention provides a comprehensive and compelling review of this explosive field. Noted criminologists Marc Riedel and Wayne Welsh make the "big picture" of criminal violence accessible to undergraduates--without oversimplifying the topic, they offer broad yet detailed coverage of issues, theories, and controversies. Two new chapters focus on domestic and international terrorism. Criminal Violence begins by (1) examining meanings and measures of violence; (2) considering theories used to explain violence; (3) exploring violence in other countries; and (4) providing a historical account of violence in the United States. The next section covers types of criminal violence, including homicide and assault, robbery, rape and sexual assault, and hate crimes. The book then shifts its focus to violence in specific settings and contexts, discussing family violence, workplace violence, school violence, gang violence, guns and violence, drugs and violence, homicide and aggravated assault, robbery, hate crimes, and rape and sexual assault. The final chapter brings together the major themes of criminal violence--its patterns, causes, and prevention. A unique and engaging three-part framework (Patterns, Explanations, and Interventions) discusses each type of violence. This helps students understand the important relationships between research, theory, and application: * Patterns: Describe the characteristics of victims, offenders, and offenses; places where violence occurs frequently; and trends over time * Explanations: Examine the major theories that are used to understand each type of violence * Interventions: Propose solutions for each type of violence, including diverse legal and social strategies-both proactive (e.g., prevention) and reactive (e.g., punishment)

Product Description: Violence has been a central feature of America’s history, culture, and place in the world. It has taken many forms: from state-sponsored uses of force such as war or law enforcement, to revolution, secession, terrorism and other actions with important political and cultural implications...read more

Product Description: "John Parry's Understanding Torture is an important contribution to our understanding of how torture fits within the practices and beliefs of the modern state. His juxtaposition of the often indeterminate nature of the law of torture with the very specific state practices of torture is both startling and revealing...read more