Bully nation : how the American establishment creates a bullying society / Charles Derber and Yale R. Magrass.
2016
BF637.B85 D47 2016 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection
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Details
Title
Bully nation : how the American establishment creates a bullying society / Charles Derber and Yale R. Magrass.
Author
Derber, Charles, author.
ISBN
9780700622603 (hardcover)
0700622608 (hardcover)
9780700622641 (electronic book)
0700622608 (hardcover)
9780700622641 (electronic book)
Published
Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, [2016]
Copyright
©2016
Language
English
Description
vii, 272 pages ; 25 cm
Call Number
BF637.B85 D47 2016
Dewey Decimal Classification
302.34/30973
Summary
"It's not just the bully in the schoolyard that we should be worried about. The one-on-one bullying that dominates the national conversation, this timely book suggests, is actually part of a larger problem--a natural outcome of the bullying nature of our national institutions. And as long as the United States embraces militarism and aggressive capitalism, systemic bullying and all its impacts--at home and abroad--will persist as a major crisis. Bullying looks very similar on the personal and institutional levels: it involves an imbalance of power and behavior that consistently undermines its victim, securing compliance and submission and reinforcing the bully's sense of superiority and legitimacy. The similarity, this book tells us, is not a coincidence. Applying the concept of the "sociological imagination," which links private problems and public issues, authors Charles Derber and Yale Magrass argue that individual bullying is an outgrowth--and a necessary function--of a larger social phenomenon. Bullying is seen here as a structural problem arising from systems organized around steep power hierarchies--from the halls of the Pentagon, Congress, and corporate offices to classrooms and playing fields and the environment. Dominant people and institutions need to create a culture in which violence and aggression are seen as natural and just: one where individuals compete over who will be bully or victim, and each is seen as deserving their fate within this hierarchy. The larger the inequalities of power in society, or among nations, or even across species, the more likely it is that both institutional and personal bullying will become commonplace. The authors see the life-long psychological scars interpersonal bullying can bring, but believe it is almost impossible to reduce such bullying without first challenging the institutions that breed and encourage it. In the United States a system of intertwined corporations, governments, and military institutions carries out "systemic bullying" to create profits and sustain its own power. While acknowledging the diversity and savagery of many other bully nations, the authors contend that America, as the most powerful nation in the world--and one that aggressively promotes its system as a model--merits special attention. It is only by recognizing the bullying built into this model that we can address the real problem, and in this, Bully Nation makes a hopeful beginning"-- Provided by publisher.
"Bullying in American society has reached epidemic proportions and become one of the nation's most widely discussed social problems. Even so, Derber and Magrass argue that to truly understand the nature and source of this behavior, the national conversation about bullying needs to push well beyond the narrowly focused psychological and therapeutic narratives that currently dominate. By highlighting how bullying threads throughout our society's government, corporate, and military institutions--at home and on the global stage--they hope to create a paradigm shift in the national conversation on this important subject"-- Provided by publisher.
"Bullying in American society has reached epidemic proportions and become one of the nation's most widely discussed social problems. Even so, Derber and Magrass argue that to truly understand the nature and source of this behavior, the national conversation about bullying needs to push well beyond the narrowly focused psychological and therapeutic narratives that currently dominate. By highlighting how bullying threads throughout our society's government, corporate, and military institutions--at home and on the global stage--they hope to create a paradigm shift in the national conversation on this important subject"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Added Author
Magrass, Yale R., author.
Record Appears in
On-Campus Resources > Books
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Table of Contents
Rethinking bullying: From the individual to the institution
Capital bullying: Capitalism, power, and economic bullying
Environmental bullying: Bullying animals and bludgeoning nature
Militarism as bullying: The superpower and the schoolyard bully
The land of the slave and the home of the bully: Race and militarized bullying
Marching to bully: How the military trains bullies, both inside and outside the services
Schooling for bullies: Education and bullying
The heartless world: All in the family
The antibullying movement: The cultural contradictions of the bully nation
Epilogue: Are there solutions? New ways to think about reducing bullying
Our God, our bully : israel, Jihad, and the Middle East : ancient and modern.
Capital bullying: Capitalism, power, and economic bullying
Environmental bullying: Bullying animals and bludgeoning nature
Militarism as bullying: The superpower and the schoolyard bully
The land of the slave and the home of the bully: Race and militarized bullying
Marching to bully: How the military trains bullies, both inside and outside the services
Schooling for bullies: Education and bullying
The heartless world: All in the family
The antibullying movement: The cultural contradictions of the bully nation
Epilogue: Are there solutions? New ways to think about reducing bullying
Our God, our bully : israel, Jihad, and the Middle East : ancient and modern.