American Fear: The Causes and Consequences of High Anxiety

ISBN-13: 9780415955423 / Angielski / Miękka / 2006 / 244 str.

Peter N. Stearns

Opis

Americans have become excessively fearful, and manipulation through fear has become a significant problem in American society, with real impact on policy. By using data from 9/11, this book makes a distinctive contribution to the exploration of recent fear, but also by developing a historical perspective, the book shows how and why distinctive American fears have emerged over the past several decades.

Recenzje

Peter N. Stearns, the pioneering historian of emotions, has written a timely book that historicizes the 9/11 climate of fear in the United States. In American Fear, Stearns argues taht "we have come, as a nation, to fear excessively," and he seeks to explain why this is so.

The Journal of American History

Spis treści

Part 1: Establishing the Cause for Fear Excess  1. Introducing Fear  2. The Distinctiveness of American Fear  Part 2: Causes and Contexts  3. Searching for Causes  4. The Roots of American Fear: Traditions  5. From Science Fiction to Real Death: New Contexts for Fear  Part 3: The Decisive Changes: Redefining Fear and Risk in Life and in Media  6. Fearing Fear: A New Socialization  7. New Approaches to Risk: Lawyers and Bicycle Helmets  8. Self-Scaring and Advertising: The Commerce Factor  Part 4: The Exhaustion of War  9. At Your Own Risk  10. A Deluge of Crises: Foreign Fears in the Past Century  Part 5: Consequences and Remedies  11. Conclusion: The Lessons of American Fear

O autorze

Peter N. Stearns