The Cultural Shaping of Violence

When do people become violent? How do societies restore peace? The Cultural Shaping of Violence brings together original research on twenty-two societies from around the world to answer these questions, producing a stimulating combination of description and analysis. People working in such fields as law enforcement, psychology, political science, and social work will find this book a stimulating introduction to the anthropology of violence and peace. Edited by Purdue University anthropologist, Myrdene Anderson, this book examines both the causes of violence and responses to it - in organizations such as the Israeli army and the U.S. Marines, and in refugee camps, teenage gangs, and other cultural settings as diverse as Peru, Northern Ireland, Taiwan, and the South Pacific. Most of the authors are anthropologists, but also included are people trained in psychology, sociology, criminology, pedagogy, literary studies, consumer sciences, and business management. Some of the authors have experience as teachers and therapists, or in policing, soldiering, consulting, and activism. Three of the chapters take a cross-cultural ethnological approach to investigate some feature relating to violence, such as kinship, politeness, and armed conflict. Part One, 'Children and Women First? Violence Close to Home', deals with relations between generations and genders in the United States, Ireland, Mexico, and Brazil. Geographic and cultural dislocation may exacerbate inter-personal violence close to home. Part Two looks into the 'Social Regulation of Anti-Social Behavior,' examining the nature of kinship - the role of women in a gendered arena and the culturally nuanced practices of politeness. The first provides an international ethnological comparison of the positive consequences of the presence of fathers in the household. The other studies focus on Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and the United States. Besides other family members, godmothers, friends, and neighbors, the ethological dimensions of politeness in a society can frame potential for anti-social behavior as well as for civility. Part Three, 'Institutional Architectures Mediating and Memorializing Violence', brings together studies of police culture; pre-modern and modern warfare; the sculpting of civilians into soldiers by the military in Israel and by the U.S. Marine Corps; and the enduring and subliminal violence of colonialism, referencing Palestinians, Pacific Islanders, and Arab-Africans. One study surveys the broader ethnological data on warfare. Part Four, 'Escalating Ecologies of Perturbation', addresses the dynamics between people and their environments, paying close attention to the interlocking constraints of natural resources, cultural resources, sociopsychological conditions, and history. The first three authors deal with resource imbalances infecting the social fabric in Indonesia, Peru, and Taiwan. Three more authors document politically-inspired abuse-unto-torture-unto-murder in Guatemala, Haiti, and Romania. An in-depth longitudinal survey of Colombian violence reveals not just trends, but cycles whose trajectories puncture the future. Following Part Four are two chapters by the editor about the seemingly non-violent Saami reindeer breeders of Norwegian Lapland. Here colonialism, technology, and alcohol play pivotal roles.