Exploring high-tension religious groups, white power movements, paranormal subcultures, LGBTQ groups, drifters, recreational drug and alcohol users, and more, the authors identify how and when people combat, defy, hide from, or run from being stigmatized as deviant.
An antidote to the culture of fear that dominates modern life From moral panics about immigration and gun control to anxiety about terrorism and natural disasters, Americans live in a culture of fear. While fear is typically discussed in emotional or poetic terms—as the opposite of courage, or as an obstacle to be overcome—it nevertheless has very real consequences in everyday life. Persistent fear negatively effects individuals’ decision-making abilities and causes anxiety, depression, and poor physical health. Further, fear harms communities and society by corroding social trust and civic engagement. Yet politicians often effectively leverage fears to garner votes and companies routinely market unnecessary products that promise protection from imagined or exaggerated harms. Drawing on five years of data from the Chapman Survey of American Fears—which canvasses a random, national sample of adults about a broad range of fears—Fear Itself offers new insights into what people are afraid of and how fear affects their lives. The authors also draw on participant observation with Doomsday preppers and conspiracy theorists to provide fascinating narratives about subcultures of fear. Fear Itself is a novel, wide-ranging study of the social consequences of fear, ultimately suggesting that there is good reason to be afraid of fear itself.
Archaic Greeks honored gods by offering dedications, often inscribed with epigrams. This book reconstructs ancient encounters with such dedications, arguing that, while the rite of offering was represented verbally and visually, reading and viewing produced effects of religious ritual. Epigram and dedication memorialized the dedicator's rite by generating its reperformance.
The writings of Heinrich von Kleist continue to inspire German readers and theater-goers after nearly 200 years, but are still relatively unknown to English speakers. Yet his search for values and his response to stress, confusion and the ambiguity of life's messages is curiously appropriate today. This work explores Kleist's quest for truth and ethics. His response to feelings of depression, failure and even suicide is instructive and satisfying for present-day readers.