The Cultural Sociology of Political Assassination: From MLK and RFK to Fortuyn and van Gogh

by R. Eyerman

Overview

Developing the theory of cultural trauma in regard to the shattering potential effects of political assassinations, Eyerman examines political and social life in three different national contexts: Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, and Harvey Milk in the U.S.; Theo Van Gogh in the Netherlands; and Olof Palme and Anna Lindh in Sweden

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230118232
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	11/29/2011
Series:	Cultural Sociology
Edition description:	2011
Pages:	191
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

RON EYERMAN Professor of Sociology at Yale University, USA.

Table of Contents

Political Assassination, Trauma and Narration Remembering the Sixties:The Assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy The End of Innocence: The Murders of Olof Palme and Anna Lindh The End of Tolerance:The murders of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh

Editorial Reviews

"It is a pleasure to welcome Ron Eyerman's brilliant contribution to our understanding of the dark dynamics of political assassination, cultural trauma, and collective memory. His work is at once psychologically sensitive and socially perceptive, theoretically sound and empirically informed, subtle and lucid in interpretation, case-based and responsive to comparative cultural context - an exemplary social-science enterprise." - Neil J. Smelser, University Professor of Sociology Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley

"Political assassinations can be deep cultural traumas, and as Ron Eyerman shows, analyzing them can yield important insights into national cultures. This book helpfully broadens thinking about political culture and also shows why certain political events matter beyond the limits of politics narrowly understood." - Craig Calhoun, President, Social Science Research Council; University Professor of the Social Sciences, New York University

From the Publisher