Description

Book Synopsis
Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Violence is part and parcel of human history and of human nature. It is one of our most distinctive traits, the one thing that all cultures and societies, across time, share in common. It has defined not only the ways in which individuals relate to each other, but also how collective entities and states have interacted with each other over the millennia. All societies are violent and all individuals have the capacity for violence. However, not all societies and not all individuals are equally violent, and nor does violence exist with the same intensity across cultures. This Very Short Introduction examines the more visible, physical acts of violence - interpersonal, gendered, collective, religious, sexual, criminal, and political - in the modern world. It explores how violence in the pre-modern world was different from the modern world, and what is significant about those differences. It also discusses what violence is by examining understandings of the ideas, values, and cultural practices embedded in an act of violence, and considering acts of violence as the outcome of a process dependent on the cultural context in which they take place. Along the way Dwyer considers some core questions, asking whether violence is always ''bad'', and if there are any limits to human violence? Why is it that what was once considered acceptable - wife beating, duelling, slavery - at some point becomes unacceptable in some societies and cultures, and yet continues in others? And finally, are we becoming more or less violent?ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Trade Review
Violence: A Very Short Introduction contains some compelling arguments worth noting. * Madeleine K. Meehan and Todd K. Shackelford, Evolutionary Psychological Science *
This straightforward, accessible introduction examines the different ways that scholars have understood and classified violence... This short introduction comes with an annotated bibliography that readers can consult to learn more. As a resource it is most useful for those who are beginning to build their knowledge of violence and its social consequences. * Choice *

Table of Contents
1: Thinking about violence 2: How violent was the past? 3: Intimate and gendered violence 4: Interpersonal violence 5: The sacred and the secular 6: Collective violence 7: Violence and the state 8: The changing nature of violence References Further Reading Index

Violence A Very Short Introduction Very Short

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A Paperback / softback by Philip Dwyer

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    View other formats and editions of Violence A Very Short Introduction Very Short by Philip Dwyer

    Publisher: Oxford University Press
    Publication Date: 24/03/2022
    ISBN13: 9780198831730, 978-0198831730
    ISBN10: 0198831730
    Also in:
    History Social and cultural history Violence, intolerance and persecution in history

    Description

    Book Synopsis
    Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Violence is part and parcel of human history and of human nature. It is one of our most distinctive traits, the one thing that all cultures and societies, across time, share in common. It has defined not only the ways in which individuals relate to each other, but also how collective entities and states have interacted with each other over the millennia. All societies are violent and all individuals have the capacity for violence. However, not all societies and not all individuals are equally violent, and nor does violence exist with the same intensity across cultures. This Very Short Introduction examines the more visible, physical acts of violence - interpersonal, gendered, collective, religious, sexual, criminal, and political - in the modern world. It explores how violence in the pre-modern world was different from the modern world, and what is significant about those differences. It also discusses what violence is by examining understandings of the ideas, values, and cultural practices embedded in an act of violence, and considering acts of violence as the outcome of a process dependent on the cultural context in which they take place. Along the way Dwyer considers some core questions, asking whether violence is always ''bad'', and if there are any limits to human violence? Why is it that what was once considered acceptable - wife beating, duelling, slavery - at some point becomes unacceptable in some societies and cultures, and yet continues in others? And finally, are we becoming more or less violent?ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

    Trade Review
    Violence: A Very Short Introduction contains some compelling arguments worth noting. * Madeleine K. Meehan and Todd K. Shackelford, Evolutionary Psychological Science *
    This straightforward, accessible introduction examines the different ways that scholars have understood and classified violence... This short introduction comes with an annotated bibliography that readers can consult to learn more. As a resource it is most useful for those who are beginning to build their knowledge of violence and its social consequences. * Choice *

    Table of Contents
    1: Thinking about violence 2: How violent was the past? 3: Intimate and gendered violence 4: Interpersonal violence 5: The sacred and the secular 6: Collective violence 7: Violence and the state 8: The changing nature of violence References Further Reading Index

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