Theft of an Idol: Text and Context in the Representation of Collective Violence
Language: English
Published by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A., 1997
Series: Book 21 of 29 - Princeton Studies in Culture/Power/History
- Softcover
- Used

Condition: Used - Good
US$ 17.00
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Text clean & bright; binding tight; minor wear to covers. 298 pages. Size: 6" x 9".
Seller Inventory # S166-044334
- Title
- Theft of an Idol: Text and Context in the Representation of Collective Violence
- Author
- Brass, Paul R.
- Publisher
- Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A.
- Publication year
- 1997
- Condition
- Good
- Binding
- Soft Cover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0691026505
- ISBN 13
- 9780691026503
- Series
- Book 21 of 29: Princeton Studies in Culture/Power/History
As collective violence erupts in many regions throughout the world, we often hear media reports that link the outbreaks to age-old ethnic or religious hostilities, thereby freeing the state, its agents, and its political elites from responsibility. Paul Brass encourages us to look more closely at the issues of violence, ethnicity, and the state by focusing on specific instances of violence in their local contexts and questioning the prevailing interpretations of them. Through five case studies of both rural and urban public violence, including police-public confrontations and Hindu-Muslim riots, Brass shows how, out of many possible interpretations applicable to these incidents, government and the media select those that support existing relations of power in state and society.
Adopting different modes--narrator, detective, and social scientist--Brass treats incidents of collective violence arising initially out of common occurrences such as a drunken brawl, the rape of a girl, and the theft of an idol, and demonstrates how some incidents remain localized while others are fit into broader frameworks of meaning, thereby becoming useful for upholders of dominant ideologies. Incessant talk about violence and its implications in these circumstances contributes to its persistence rather than its reduction. Such treatment serves in fact to mask the causes of violence, displace the victims from the center of attention, and divert society's gaze from those responsible for its endemic character. Brass explains how this process ultimately implicates everyone in the perpetuation of systems of violence.
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Payment accepted via credit card, check/money order, or PayPal. Credit cards accepted via ABEbooks or PayPal ONLY -- please do not send us your credit card information, as we have no way of processing it ourselves. Our PayPal account is bookbooth@usa.com. If paying via PayPal, please remember to include shipping & handling charges. Checks and money orders are also accepted; please make them payable to: C.M. Casciani, 441 W. Bagley Rd. #173, Berea OH 44017. Library and institutional orders welcome; please email us if you require any special handling. International orders must be payable in US dollars. SHIPPING & HANDLING: all books shipped in USA via USPS; Media Mail 7-14 business days for delivery, $4.00 for first book - $1.50 each additional book; or, Priority Mail 2-4 business days for delivery, $6.00 first book - $2.50 each additional book. Returns for reasonable grading of condition; email us prior to return for shipping instructions.