This volume contains selected papers given at the conference 'Violence, Culture and Identity' held at St Andrews University in 2003. It contributes to the debate on the role of culture in propagating, mediating and controlling violence in society, concentrating on the relationship between culture and identity-formation in Germany and Austria from the Middle Ages to the present. Bringing together the work of twenty-two scholars with expertise in different literary and historical periods, the volume probes the complexities of representations of violence enacted and suffered, of affirmative and non-affirmative violence in text and visual form, revealing the often blurred line between victim and victimizer. Violence in its discursive and material forms is investigated, using the theoretical tools of sociology, post-colonial and gender studies, history and psychology as well as of literary criticism. The collection of essays focuses particularly on the relationship between war and identity, on 1970s terrorism and identity, on violence and the construction of gender, and on contemporary writing in German.

Amartya Sen argues that most of the conflicts in the contemporary world arise from individuals' notions of who they are, and which groups they belong to - local, national, religious - which define themselves in opposition to others.

From prison interviews with violent offenders and a wealth of experience and research, an Australian psychologist explores the complex interaction between crime and culture. Fifteen convicted adult male violent offenders explain their understanding, motivations and rationalisations for their actions in relation to values. This nuanced understanding adds significantly to criminological theory, as well as providing suggestions for better policing, offender management, and rehabilitation.

With the collapse of the bipolar system of global rivalry that dominated world politics after the Second World War, and in an age that is seeing the return of “ethnic cleansing” and “identity politics,” the question of violence, in all of its multiple ramifications, imposes itself with renewed urgency. Rather than concentrating on the socioeconomic or political backgrounds of these historical changes, the contributors to this volume rethink the concept of violence, both in itself and in relation to the formation and transformation of identities, whether individual or collective, political or cultural, religious or secular. In particular, they subject the notion of self-determination to stringent scrutiny: is it to be understood as a value that excludes violence, in principle if not always in practice? Or is its relation to violence more complex and, perhaps, more sinister? Reconsideration of the concepts, the practice, and even the critique of violence requires an exploration of the implications and limitations of the more familiar interpretations of the terms that have dominated in the history of Western thought. To this end, the nineteen contributors address the concept of violence from a variety of perspectives in relation to different forms of cultural representation, and not in Western culture alone; in literature and the arts, as well as in society and politics; in philosophical discourse, psychoanalytic theory, and so-called juridical ideology, as well as in colonial and post-colonial practices and power relations. The contributors are Giorgio Agamben, Ali Behdad, Cathy Caruth, Jacques Derrida, Michael Dillon, Peter Fenves, Stathis Gourgouris, Werner Hamacher, Beatrice Hanssen, Anselm Haverkamp, Marian Hobson, Peggy Kamuf, M. B. Pranger, Susan M. Shell, Peter van der Veer, Hent de Vries, Cornelia Vismann, and Samuel Weber.

This book analyses the process of ‘reshaping’ liberated societies in post-1945 Europe. Post-war societies tried to solve three main questions immediately after the dark times of occupation: Who could be considered a patriot and a valuable member of the respective national community? How could relations between men and women be (re-)established? How could the respective society strengthen national cohesion? Violence in rather different forms appeared to be a powerful tool for such a complex reshaping of societies. The chapters are based on present primary research about specific cases and consider the different political, mental, and cultural developments in various nation-states between 1944 and 1948. Examples from Italy, France, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary demonstrate a new comparative and fascinating picture of post-war Europe. This perspective overcomes the notorious East-West dividing line, without covering the manifold differences between individual European countries.

This collection of essays derives from a conference on Violence, Culture and Identity held in St. Andrews in June 2003. It examines postcolonial cultures and identities by investigating the way in which violence is represented by Francophone creative artists.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “[A] masterpiece . . . an astonishing book that will leave you questioning your own life and political views.”—USA Today “If any one person can be given credit for transforming the medical establishment’s thinking about health care for the destitute, it is Paul Farmer. . . . [Mountains Beyond Mountains] inspires, discomforts, and provokes.”—The New York Times (Best Books of the Year) In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life’s calling: to cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Tracy Kidder’s magnificent account shows how one person can make a difference in solving global health problems through a clear-eyed understanding of the interaction of politics, wealth, social systems, and disease. Profound and powerful, Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes people’s minds through his dedication to the philosophy that “the only real nation is humanity.” WINNER OF THE LETTRE ULYSSES AWARD FOR THE ART OF REPORTAGE This deluxe paperback edition includes a new Epilogue by the author

An award-winning author explores why so many people commit crimes in the name of identity. "Makes for compelling reading in America today."--"The New York Times."

Analyzes how the rhetoric of Yugoslav intellectuals and politicians and the U.S.-led Western media and political leadership framed the serbs as metaphorical vampires in the last decades of the twentieth century.

Violence forms a part of the daily rhythms of life in the Peruvian Andes - from the "play" of everyday life to the political actions of the Shining Path. This volume explores how violence has affected the daily lives, cultural identities, and political futures of the inhabitants of Peru's southern high provinces. In their case studies, the contributors consider how violence has inflected the historical geography of the region; popular discourses of race, ethnicity, and gender; and the forms of local power that perpetuate landlord rule. Unruly Order makes a powerful argument for extending our understanding of this particular regional culture of violence to the social and cultural processes at work in many other parts of Latin America.