Synthetic Panics

Synthetic Panics
Author: Philip Jenkins
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 260
Release: 1999-07-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1479829358

America has a long history of drug panics in which countless social problems have been blamed on the devastating effects of some harmful substance. In the last forty years, such panics have often focused on synthetic or designer drugs, like methamphetamine, PCP, Ecstasy, methcathinone, and rave drugs like ketamine, and GHB. Fear of these substances has provided critical justification for the continuing "war on drugs." Synthetic Panics traces the history of these anti-drug movements, demonstrating that designer chemicals inspire so much fear not because they are uniquely dangerous, but because they bring into focus deeply rooted public concerns about social and cultural upheaval. Jenkins highlights the role of the mass media in spreading anti-drug hysteria and shows how proponents of the war on drugs use synthetic panics to scapegoat society's "others" and exacerbate racial, class, and intergenerational conflict.

Moral Panics and School Educational Policy

Moral Panics and School Educational Policy
Author: Grant Rodwell
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2017-07-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1351627805

How do the moral panics that have plagued school education since it’s nineteenth-century beginnings impact current school education policy? Research has shown young people to be particularly vulnerable to moral panics and, with the rise of social media, the impact of moral panics on school education is growing exponentially. Increasingly, they are reaching into the highest levels of national governments and, so powerful are their effects, some politicians choose to orchestrate them for their own political ends. For many educational administrators, the management of the ‘fallout’ of moral panics has become a time-consuming part of their day, as well as being a problematic time for parents, teachers and students. First developed by British and Canadian sociologists such as Stanley Cohen (1972), moral panic theory has evolved substantially since its early focus on adolescent deviant behaviour, and is now a part of common media talk. This book addresses the need for a single monograph on the topic, with reference to historical moral panics such as those associated with sexuality education, but also wider societal moral panics such as those associated with obesity. Teachers, students, indeed all members of school communities, along with educational administrators and politicians can learn from this study of the impact of moral panics on school educational policy.

Crime and the Media

Crime and the Media
Author: Sarah E.H. Moore
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2017-09-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1137400544

From video games that allow us to participate in Mafia-style violence, to newspaper reports about the latest terrorist atrocity, from detective novels that fill our bedside cabinets, to Hollywood's beloved legal dramas – the mass media is saturated with stories about crime, justice and disorder. Together they create a cultural landscape of crime that is distinctly at odds with reality, as criminologists are apt to complain. Crime and the Media attempts to make sense of this cultural landscape and its relationship with broader social trends and public attitudes. Through focussed, critical discussions about crime in the media - taking on crime news and fictional representations of cops, courts, and corrections - the text equips students with an understanding of the key theoretical concepts and methodological tools that are required to undertake media analysis. With questions for discussion, exercises and workshop sessions, as well as techniques for analysing crime in a range of media formats, the book makes an invaluable contribution to crime and media courses, and to the social sciences in general.

Moral Panics

Moral Panics
Author: Erich Goode
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2010-01-19
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9781444307931

Packed with new examples and material, this second edition providesa fully up-to-date exploration of the genesis, dynamics, and demiseof moral panics and their impacts on the societies in which theytake place. Packed with updated and recent examples including terrorism,the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Towers, school shootings, flagburning, and the early-2000s resurgence of the “sexslave” scare Includes a new chapter on the media, currently regarded as amajor component of the moral panic Devotes a chapter to addressing criticisms of the first editionas well as the moral panics concept itself Written by long-established experts in the field Designed to fit both self-contained courses on moral panics andwider courses on deviance

The Ashgate Research Companion to Moral Panics

The Ashgate Research Companion to Moral Panics
Author: Charles Krinsky
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 501
Release: 2016-03-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317042433

The Ashgate Research Companion to Moral Panics offers a comprehensive assemblage of cutting-edge critical and theoretical perspectives on the concept of moral panic. All chapters represent original research by many of the most influential theorists and researchers now working in the area of moral panic, including Nachman Ben-Yehuda and Erich Goode, Joel Best, Chas Critcher, Mary deYoung, Alan Hunt, Toby Miller, Willem Schinkel, Kenneth Thompson, Sheldon Ungar, and Grazyna Zajdow. Chapters come from a range of disciplines, including media studies, literary studies, history, legal studies, and sociology, with significant new elaborations on the concept of moral panic (and its future), informed and powerful critiques, and detailed empirical studies from several continents. A clear and comprehensive survey of a concept that is increasingly influential in a number of disciplines as well as in popular culture, this collection of the latest research in the field addresses themes including the evolution of the moral panic concept, sex panics, media panics, moral panics over children and youth, and the future of the moral panic concept.

Conspiracy Panics

Conspiracy Panics
Author: Jack Z. Bratich
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2008-02-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0791478823

While most other works focus on conspiracy theories, this book examines conspiracy panics, or the anxiety over the phenomenon of conspiracy theories. Jack Z. Bratich argues that conspiracy theories are portals into the major social issues defining U.S. and global political culture. These issues include the rise of new technologies, the social function of journalism, U.S. race relations, citizenship and dissent, globalization, biowarfare and biomedicine, and the shifting positions within the Left. Using a Foucauldian governmentality analysis, Bratich maintains that conspiracy panics contribute to a broader political rationality, a (neo)liberal strategy of governing at a distance through the use of reason. He also explores the growing popularity of 9/11 conspiracy research in terms of what he calls the "sphere of legitimate dissensus." Conspiracy Panics concludes that we are witnessing a new fusion of culture and rationality, one that is increasingly shared across the political spectrum.

Critical Readings: Moral Panics And The Media

Critical Readings: Moral Panics And The Media
Author: Critcher, Chas
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2006-03-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0335218075

First coined by Stanley Cohen in 1972, 'moral panic' is a key term in media studies, used to refer to sudden eruptions of indignant concern about social issues. An occurrence of moral panic is characterised by stylized and stereotypical representation by the mass media, and a tendency for those in power to claim the moral high ground and pronounce judgement. In this important book, Chas Critcher brings together essential readings on moral panics, which he contextualises in the light of moral panic scholarship through an editor’s introduction and concise section introductions. The first section discusses moral panic models, and includes contributions on the history and intellectual background of the concept. Differences in thinking between British and American moral panic scholarship are also examined. A second section features important case studies, including AIDS, Satanism, drugs, paedophilia and asylum seekers. This is followed by readings that look at themes such as the importance of language, rhetoric and discourse; the dynamics of media reporting and how it affects public opinion; and the idea of the ‘risk society’. Finally, readings critique and debate the use and relevance of moral panic models. Critical Readings: Moral Panics And The Mediais a valuable resource for students and researchers in media studies, criminology and sociology. Essays by:David L. Altheide, Nachman Ben-Yehuda, Joel Best, Theodore Chiricos, John Clarke, Stan Cohen, Chas Critcher, Mary deYoung, Julie Dickinson, Erich Goode, Johanna Habermeier, Stuart Hall, Sean P. Hier, Tony Jefferson, Philip Jenkins, Hans Mathias Kepplinger, Jennifer Kitzinger, Daniel Maier-Katkin, Angela McRobbie, Peter Meylakhs, Suzanne Ost, Bryan Roberts, Liza Schuster, Stephen Stockwell, Kenneth Thompson, Sarah L.Thornton, Sheldon Ungar, Simon Watney, Jeffrey Weeks, Michael Welch, Paul Williams.

Moral Panic and the Politics of Anxiety

Moral Panic and the Politics of Anxiety
Author: SEAN HIER
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 261
Release: 2012-05-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 113519811X

Moral Panic and the Politics of Anxiety is a collection of original essays written by some of the world’s leading social scientists. It seeks to provide unique insight into the importance of moral panic as a routine feature of everyday life, whilst also developing an integrated framework for moral panic research by widening the scope of scholarship in the area. Many of the key twenty-first century contributions to moral panic theory have moved beyond the parameters of the sociology of deviance to consider the importance of moral panic for identity formation, national security, industrial risk, and character formation. Reflecting this growth, the book brings together recognized moral panic researchers with prominent scholars in moral regulation, social problems, cultural fear, and health risks, allowing for a more careful and critical discussion around the cultural and political significance of moral panic to emerge. This book will prove valuable reading for both undergraduate and postgraduate students on courses such as politics and the media, regulatory policy, the body and identity, theory and political sociology, and sociology of culture.

The Handbook of Drugs and Society

The Handbook of Drugs and Society
Author: Henry H. Brownstein
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 658
Release: 2015-09-25
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1118726685

This handbook provides a comprehensive examination of the past and present roles of drugs in society with a focus on theory, research, policy, and practice. Includes 28 original chapters with multi-disciplinary and international perspectives by top social and behavioral scientists Reviews current knowledge in the field, including key research findings, theoretical developments, and methodological debates Identifies ongoing controversies in the field, emergent topics, and areas in need of further inquiry Discusses individual drugs as well as topics like physiological theories of drug use and abuse, public health implications of drugs, patterns of drugs and crime, international drug trade and trafficking, and designer drugs

Understanding Deviance

Understanding Deviance
Author: Tammy L. Anderson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 945
Release: 2014-01-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134756372

In this collection of 48 reprinted and completely original articles, Tammy Anderson gives her fellow instructors of undergraduate deviance a refreshing way to energize and revitalize their courses. [36 are reprints; 12 are original to this text/anthology] First, in 12 separate sections, she presents a wide range of deviant behaviors, traits, and conditions including: underage drinking and drunk driving, doping in elite sports, gang behavior, community crime, juvenile delinquency, hate crime, prison violence and transgendered prisoners, mental illness, drug-using women and domestic violence, obesity, tattooing, sexual fetishes, prostitution, drug epidemics, viral pandemics, crime control strategies and racial inequality, gay neighborhoods, HIV and bugchasers, and (lastly) youth, multicultural identity and music scenes. Second, her pairing of "classic" and "contemporary" viewpoints about deviance and social control not only "connects" important literatures of the past to today’s (student) readers, her "connections framework" also helps all of us see social life and social processes more clearly when alternative meanings are accorded to similar forms of deviant behavior. We also learn how to appreciate and interact with those who see things differently from ourselves. This may better equip us to reach common goals in an increasingly diverse and ever-changing world. Third, a major teaching goal of Anderson’s anthology is to sharpen students’ critical thinking skills by forcing them to look at how a deviant behavior, trait or condition, can be viewed from opposing or alternative perspectives. By learning to see deviance from multiple perspectives, students will better understand their own and other’s behavior and experiences and be able to anticipate future trends. Balancing multiple perspectives may also assist students in their practical work in social service, criminal justice and other agencies and institutions that deal with populations considered "deviant" in one way or another.