A Cultural History of Violence in the Age of Enlightenment / edited by Philip Dwyer.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Dwyer, Philip, editor.

Series:

The Cultural Histories Series.

The Cultural Histories Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Violence--History.

Violence.

Enlightenment.

Civilization--History.

Civilization.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (272 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), 2026.

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2025.

System Details:

text file rdaft

Summary:

The Enlightenment is often considered to be a turning point in the history of violence, a period when rates of homicide in many countries declined to levels on a par with modern societies. Enlightenment ideals are often touted as being responsible for that change. And yet, excessive violence persisted in many forms, including slavery, colonialism, warfare, and spectacular punishments. The authority of the state was still associated with notions of retributive violence and in muzzling political and religious dissent. In the domestic sphere, interpersonal violence was pervasive. This volume aims at fostering the debate on the Enlightenment period by examining the practice of violence across the world in a time of revolutionary upheaval. Contributors to this volume explore how violence was understood, the extent to which Enlightenment ideas and ideals had an impact on relations between people, as well as between people and the state, the continuation of religious violence, the representations of violence in literature and the media, and the impact of technology. The cultures of violence described in these essays allow for a comparative discussion about the history of violence and its impact on the Age of Enlightenment.

Contents:

Introduction, Philip Dwyer (University of Newcastle, Australia) 1. Understanding and Defining Violence, Philip Dwyer (University of Newcastle, Australia) 2. Sacred Violence, Brian Sandberg (Northern Illinois University, USA) 3. Spaces of Violence, Marianna Muravyeva (University of Helsinki, Finland) 4. Authority and Violence, Jonah Miller (King’s College London, UK) 5. Persecution, Oppression and Subjection, Jean-Frédéric Schaub and Anna Joukovskaia (École des hautes études en sciences sociales, and CERCEC Paris, France) 6. Emotion and Violence, Katie Barclay (Macquarie University, Australia) 7. Visual Representations of Violence, Howard G. Brown (Binghamton University, USA) 8. Literary Representations of Violence, Neil Ramsey (University of New South Wales, Australia) 9. Technologies of Violence, Wayne E. Lee (University of North Carolina, USA)

ISBN:

9781350148406

OCLC:

1582442647