As in the study of any social problem, to understand terrorism we must understand how certain interest groups and bureaucratic agencies present their particular views of terrorist phenomena, and how they strive and try to establish these as the ones that come to be accepted as obviously correct. We also need to consider their audiences. Why do the media accept or reject certain views of terrorism? Why does the public accept one kind of rhetorical presentation rather than another? How aYe popular attitudes shaped and reshaped by the images and stereotypes offered in the mass media, and in popular culture? When we appreciate the processes involved in making news about terrorism, we are better able to sift critically the claims that are made, and to evaluate policies. Images of Terror provides a critical guide to the images of terrorism that we see daily in the mass media. All too often, scholars and journalists accept uncritically the interpretations of terrorism they receive from governments and official agencies. Our perceptions of terrorism are formed by the interaction of bureaucratic agencies, academics and private experts, and the mass media. Yet the images and stereotypes offered do not necessarily reflect objective reality. Jenkins argues that terrorism, like most other problems, is socially constructed. He does not suggest that terrorism is not a real problem, an authentic menace, or that society should not respond promptly and effectively to terrorist threats. But rather than being something understood in the same way by people in different societies and different eras, the concept of terrorism is shaped by social and political processes, by bureaucratic needs and media structures. This process of construction applies both to the overall concept, and to specific movements, to groups and their actions. For the foreseeable future, terrorism is likely to remain a dominant issue in the political life of the United States, and indeed of much of the world. This book raises important questions about how we form our notions of the enemy to be confronted, and how, when we make statements about terrorism, we know what we think we know.

Images of Terror: What We Can and Can't Know about Terrorism (Social Problems and Social Issues)

Politics & Social Sciences

Bruckberger, R.L.

Social Sciences

Routledge

Images of America: A Political, Industrial and Social Portrait

"Either America is the hope of the world, or it is nothing. Th ere are those who have begun to despair of the West. It is for them that I am writing." Bruckberger's book has been compared by many to Tocqueville's Democracy in America. In both works, Americans see themselves through the sympathetic, sometimes critical eyes of a Frenchman. Bruckberger, as chaplain general of the French Resistance during World War II, was a scholar who lived a life of action, and a priest who knew the life of the spirit. He begins with a celebration of the American past, but also off ers a clear warning for the future.The book was written after Bruckberger's eight years in the United States, during which he thought deeply about the country, and came to love and admire it. He sees what others have not, and his heroes are, in most instances, not the ones normally chosen. As seen from the perspective of the old Europe, the ideas and ideals that have shaped the history and character of America, take on a new meaning. The result is an image of America that is as enlightening as it is surprising.Bruckberger believes America brings to the Western heritage an essential spark, one vital for the angry and perilous post-World War II world, and one equally important today. That is America's regard for the individual, for the non-abstract, living human being. This theme, contrasted with what Bruckberger sees as the heresy of Europe--the subordination of human beings to abstraction� is developed with wit and insight.

Business & Money

Industries

As in the study of any social problem, to understand terrorism we must understand how certain interest groups and bureaucratic agencies present their particular views of terrorist phenomena, and how they strive and try to establish these as the ones that come to be accepted as obviously correct. We also need to consider their audiences. Why do the media accept or reject certain views of terrorism? Why does the public accept one kind of rhetorical presentation rather than another? How aYe popular attitudes shaped and reshaped by the images and stereotypes offered in the mass media, and in popular culture? When we appreciate the processes involved in making news about terrorism, we are better able to sift critically the claims that are made, and to evaluate policies.Images of Terror provides a critical guide to the images of terrorism that we see daily in the mass media. All too often, scholars and journalists accept uncritically the interpretations of terrorism they receive from governments and official agencies. Our perceptions of terrorism are formed by the interaction of bureaucratic agencies, academics and private experts, and the mass media. Yet the images and stereotypes offered do not necessarily reflect objective reality.Jenkins argues that terrorism, like most other problems, is socially constructed. He does not suggest that terrorism is not a real problem, an authentic menace, or that society should not respond promptly and effectively to terrorist threats. But rather than being something understood in the same way by people in different societies and different eras, the concept of terrorism is shaped by social and political processes, by bureaucratic needs and media structures. This process of construction applies both to the overall concept, and to specific movements, to groups and their actions.For the foreseeable future, terrorism is likely to remain a dominant issue in the political life of the United States, and indeed of much of the world. This book raises important questions about how we form our notions of the enemy to be confronted, and how, when we make statements about terrorism, we know what we think we know.

Images of Terror: What We Can and Can't Know about Terrorism

Jenkins, Philip

Sociology

"Either America is the hope of the world, or it is nothing. Th ere are those who have begun to despair of the West. It is for them that I am writing." Bruckberger's book has been compared by many to Tocqueville's Democracy in America. In both works, Americans see themselves through the sympathetic, sometimes critical eyes of a Frenchman. Bruckberger, as chaplain general of the French Resistance during World War II, was a scholar who lived a life of action, and a priest who knew the life of the spirit. He begins with a celebration of the American past, but also off ers a clear warning for the future. The book was written after Bruckberger's eight years in the United States, during which he thought deeply about the country, and came to love and admire it. He sees what others have not, and his heroes are, in most instances, not the ones normally chosen. As seen from the perspective of the old Europe, the ideas and ideals that have shaped the history and character of America, take on a new meaning. The result is an image of America that is as enlightening as it is surprising. Bruckberger believes America brings to the Western heritage an essential spark, one vital for the angry and perilous post-World War II world, and one equally important today. That is America's regard for the individual, for the non-abstract, living human being. This theme, contrasted with what Bruckberger sees as the heresy of Europe--the subordination of human beings to abstraction-- is developed with wit and insight.

Le capitalisme -mais c'est la vie!

Broché

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bruckberger, R.L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Bruckberger, R.L.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bruckberger, R.L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Images of Terror: What We Can and Can't Know about Terrorism (Social Problems and Social Issues)

Images of America: A Political, Industrial and Social Portrait

Images of Terror: What We Can and Can't Know about Terrorism

Images of America: A Political, Industrial and Social Portrait

Le capitalisme -mais c'est la vie!