All-American massacre : the tragic role of American culture and society in mass shootings

Title:

Author:

Madfis, Eric, editor.

ISBN:

9781439923122

9781439923139

Physical Description:

vii, 350 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

General Note:

Source of cataloging data: WCP

Abstract:

"In this edited collection, topic experts report on the social and cultural roots of various motivations and correlates of American mass shootings. The examinations of each contributing social problem center the question of why mass shootings are such an American phenomenon"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Editors' introduction -- Mass Shootings and American Culture and Society / Mass shootings and American masculinities -- Mass Shootings and American Masculinities / The Patriarchal Patterns of Male Mass Killers in America: A Typology / Mass Shootings Involving Intimate Partners in the United States: Prevalence and Patterns / Involuntary Celibates, Masculinities, and Violence in American Culture / Structural Strain, Intersectionality, and Mass Murder: A Case Study of the Isla Vista Shooting / Mass Shootings and White Supremacy in America -- White Supremacy, Frontier Myths, the "Great Replacement" Theory, and the Making of American Mass Killers / The Accelerationists: White Supremacist Movement Culture and the Strategy of Mass Shootings in the United States / Violent Revenge, Derealization, and Deadly Violence: White Supremacist Websites and Mass Shootings / Mass Violence, White Empathy: How Media Narratives Shape Public Sentiment on Mass Shootings / Mass Shootings and American Mass and Social Media -- "I'll See You on National T.V.!": America's Fame-seeking Mass Shooters and Their Global Influence / Is No Notoriety Enough?: Attaining Micro-Fame beyond the Mass Media / "And What Are All These People Watching?": The American Celebrity Industry, Genre, and Film Adaptations of School Shootings / Mass Shootings and American Politics -- The American Politics of Mass Shootings: Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, and the Unicorn / Heated Partisan Rhetoric: An Important Factor in Mass Shootings That Involve Political Figures in the United States / Support for Gun Rights: Group Identities, Perceptions of Safety, and Attitudes about Responses to Mass Shootings in the United States / Mass Shootings and American Education -- A Case of American Exceptionalism: The Influence of Super Controllers in Mass School Shootings / Perceptions of Blame for Gun Violence in U.S. schools: Media Coverage of the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting / Preventing School Shootings and Healing America's Bootstrap Trauma with Compassionate and Cooperative Schools / Mass Shootings, Firearms, and Mental Health in America -- The Precarious Relationship between Firearm Access and Mass Shootings in the United States: Logically Obvious but Analytically Evasive / Do Gun Control Laws Prevent Mass Shootings in the United States?: A Review of the Evidence / Gun Purchasing Patterns in the United States: Trends Surrounding Mass Shootings / Mass shootings and Mental Health in the United States: Key Dynamics and Controversies

Subject Term:

Mass shootings -- Social aspects -- United States.

Social problems -- United States.

Added Author:

Madfis, Eric,

Lankford, Adam, 1979-

Available:*

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Summary

What elements of contemporary American life contribute to the United States having the greatest number and highest share of public mass shootings around the globe? The editors and contributors to All-American Massacre seek to answer this question by exploring how masculinity, racism, politics, media, fame, education, gun culture, and mental health influence the causes of mass shootings in the United States.

With a specific focus on exploring how American culture, institutions, and social structures influence the circumstances, frequency, and severity of mass shootings in the United States, All-American Massacre advances emerging theoretical perspectives and forges fresh approaches, new research questions, and innovative data and conclusions.

Bringing together pioneering scholars, this groundbreaking compilation of research and analysis identifies the social roots of this insidious threat and prompts new reflections on how we can stop the seemingly endless cycle of horror and death. All-American Massacre helps clarify the unique nature and salience of mass shootings in American life.

Contributors: Melanie Brazzell, Tristan Bridges, Ryan Broll, F. Chris Curran, Sarah E. Daly, Salvatore D'Angelo, James Densley, Tom Diaz, Scott Duxbury, Benjamin W. Fisher, Betsy Friauf, Emma E. Fridel, Celene Fuller, Daniel Gascón, Patrick J. Gauding, Brooke Miller Gialopsos, Simon Gottschalk, Donald P. Haider-Markel, Stephanie Howells, Cheryl Lero Jonson, Mark R. Joslyn, Jessie Klein, Aaron Kupchik, Alison J. Marganski, Melissa M. Moon, Kristen J. Neville, Jaimee Nix, Daniel Okamura, Patrick F. Parnaby, Jillian Peterson, Michael Phillips, Paul Reeping, Jason R. Silva, William A. Stadler, Lindsay Steenberg, Tara Leigh Tober, Jillian J. Turanovic, Abigail Vegter, Stanislav Vysotsky, Lacey N. Wallace and the editors

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

A collection of academic essays on the American penchant for mass shootings. Americans commit a disproportionate number of mass shootings, far greater than other societies even where private gun ownership is permitted, such as India and Switzerland. The contributors to this volume, edited by criminal justice professors Madfis and Lankford, seek to understand what elements in American society fuel this murderous streak--which, as one notes, has only grown in recent years, at least in some measure because of the widespread availability of not just guns, but also large capacity magazines. Banning those "may prove a more effective intervention for mass shootings than restrictions on assault weapons." Whereas it is a popular trope among gun advocates that mental illness is the real issue, as criminologists Jillian Peterson and James Densley write, its symptoms are likely less important than other indicators, such as "stress, unemployment, relationship struggles, violence, and trauma." Besides, they add, only 5% of violent crimes are committed by "people with serious mental illness." So who are the shooters? As several contributors provide data points to show, they are often White males who are sexually insecure, have likely been ridiculed or bullied, and have easy access to weapons. Older mass shooters tend to hold White supremacist beliefs, while younger ones are more likely not to be particularly ideological. Whereas "three overlapping groups--gun owners, Republicans, and conservatives" insist that there's nothing that can be done to stop mass shootings, several of the authors suggest that this isn't so. For instance, reforming an educational system that reinforces social isolation, bullying, and untreated trauma might "lead the way to a less violent society with far fewer mass shootings and other pathologies." More immediately, and predictably, many contributors call for stronger measures to restrict the availability of military-grade weapons to civilian buyers. A useful work of scholarship in documenting American lethality. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Choice Review

This edited collection attempts to better understand the factors that contribute to the US having the greatest number and highest share of public mass shootings in the world. Recognizing that this is a uniquely American problem, editors Madfis (Univ. of Washington, Tacoma) and Lankford (Univ. of Alabama) provide a critical examination of mass shootings through the lens of American culture, institutions, and social structures. The contributions come from a wide range of scholars working in the fields of sociology, criminology, psychology, political science, social work, communications, epidemiology, history, and education. An introduction outlining the book's scope and organization is followed by six substantive sections, each tackling a different component of the problem. This allows contributors to closely examine the role of key factors that contribute to mass shootings: e.g., gender and masculinity; racism and white supremacy; mass media, fame, and celebrity; politics and public opinion; education practices and policies; and mental health and access to firearms. The chapters are well written and referenced and include both qualitative and quantitative research. The book would benefit from a concluding section that summarizes the findings and provides an overview of their policy implications. An excellent addition to sociology and criminology collections. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. --Geraint B. Osborne, University of Alberta