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Stories have persuasive powers: they can influence how a person thinks and acts. Inside Story explores the capacity of stories to direct our thinking, heighten our emotions, and thereby motivate people to do harm to others and to tolerate harm done by others. From terrorist violence to “mere” complacency with institutionalized harm, the book weds case study to cross-disciplinary theory. It builds upon timely work in the field of narrative criminology and provides a thorough analysis of how stories can promote or inhibit harmful action. By offering a sociological analysis of the emotional yet intersubjective experience of dangerous stories, the book fleshes out the perplexing mechanics of cultural influence on crime and other forms of harm.
Price: $29.95
Pages: 200
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
August 7, 2018
Trim Size: 8.25 X 5.50 in
ISBN: 9780520290181
Format: Paperback
"Presser has been a true pioneer in this relatively new subfield of criminology. ... Inside Story not only constitutes an outstanding research effort but also offers resounding testimony to the value of interdisciplinarity in the study of narrative."
"Presser aptly demonstrates the importance of thinking about violence as slow and structural as opposed to swift and interpersonal. Moreover, she successfully persuades readers to think of harm in unconventional ways and implores us to challenge complicity, complacency, and the benevolence of theory."
"Lois Presser’s timely book highlights an overlooked aspect of criminological theory in investigating the role of narratives in the perpetration of 'mass harm.' . . . As the book breaks ground in narrative theory to criminology, it might provide theoretical inspiration to empirical work on the topic."
Lois Presser is Professor of Sociology at the University of Tennessee. She is the author of Been a Heavy Life: Stories of Violent Men and Why We Harm and coeditor of Narrative Criminology: Understanding Stories of Crime with Sveinung Sandberg.
Preface
1. Introduction: Narratives and Narrative Impacts
2. The Cultural Grounds of Mass Harm
3. Emotion, Narrative, and Transcendence
4. The Invitational Edge of Underdog Stories
5. Becoming Criminal: A Hegemonic Story of Antisociality
6. Better Living in Story Worlds
Notes
References
Index
1. Introduction: Narratives and Narrative Impacts
2. The Cultural Grounds of Mass Harm
3. Emotion, Narrative, and Transcendence
4. The Invitational Edge of Underdog Stories
5. Becoming Criminal: A Hegemonic Story of Antisociality
6. Better Living in Story Worlds
Notes
References
Index