"Larkin creates a powerful lens to examine the complexities of the forces which contributed to the Columbine tragedy. The introductory narrative of the rampage is so vivid that both the casual and studied reader will be instantly engaged... Drawing on his skill as an interviewer and researcher, Larkin is able to give the reader a glimpse of the cultural and everyday social reality of Columbine High School [and he] does an excellent job of situating school shootings in the larger cultural landscape of violence in America. Larkin's book is destined to be the definitive work on the Columbine shootings."-Raymond Calluori, New Jersey Institute of Technology "This book is not just about Harris and Klebold's motivations... It is about the influence of social structure on those labeled as outsiders, ... about structurally entrenched sources of gendered violence and degradation."-Peter Freund, Montclair State University

On April 20, 1999, two Colorado teenagers went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School. That day, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed twelve fellow students and a teacher, as well as wounding twenty-four other people, before they killed themselves. Although there have been other books written about the tragedy, this is the first serious, impartial investigation into the cultural, environmental, and psychological causes of the massacre.Based on first-hand interviews and a thorough reading of the relevant literature, Ralph Larkin examines the complex of factors that led the two young men to plan and carry out their deed. For Harris and Klebold, Larkin concludes, the carnage was an act of revenge against the "jocks" who had harassed and humiliated them, retribution against evangelical students who acted as if they were morally superior, an acting out of the mythology of right-wing paramilitary organization members to "die in a blaze of glory," and a deep desire for notoriety.Rather than simply looking at Columbine as a crucible for all school violence, Larkin places the tragedy in its proper context, and in doing so, examines its causes and meaning.
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On April 20, 1999, two Colorado teenagers went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School. That day, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 fellow students and a teacher, as well as wounding 24 other people, before they killed themselves. This book examines the complex of factors that led the two young men to plan and carry out their deed.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. list of tables iv 2. LIST OF FIGURES v 3. ARMAGEDDON (WELL, ALMOST) 1 Aftermath 11 4. GOD'S COUNTRY 23 Columbine High School, April 19, 1999 38 Sports at Columbine 54 The High School and the Community 56 5. CULTURE WARS AT COLUMBINE 60 Christians in the Cross Hairs 61 The Evangelicals Take over the Memorial Service 63 Rachel Scott and Cassie Bernall: From Victims to Christian Martyrs 66 The Strange Journey of the Crosses 74 Christians versus Christians 80 Moral Elitism 88 6. THE PEER STRUCTURE OF COLUMBINE HIGH 89 The In Crowd 94 The Inbetweeners 104 The Outcaste Students 109 7. THE OTHER COLUMBINE 114 Bullying 117 The Visibility of Bullying 127 The Role of Adults in Harassment 133 A Toxic Environment 140 Religious Intolerance 141 Injustice 144 Appearances and Reality 153 Mr. DeAngelis 156 Drugs 159 Conclusion 160 8. ERIC AND DYLAN 163 Eric Harris, Instigator and Theorist 163 Dylan Klebold, Willing Follower 186 The Boys Together 196 The Depressive and the Psychopath? 202 Conclusion 206 9. FROM OKLAHOMA CITY TO COLUMBINE 210 Eric Harris and Nazi Skinheads 211 Youth and History 219 The Revolt of the Angry White Male, 1992-1996 224 Angry White Teenagers 227 Rambo Goes to School 234 10. DEAD CELEBRITIES 238 Postmodern Culture and the Cult of Celebrity 241 Youth in a Cold New World 247 Who's Going to Make My Movie? The Killers and Celebrity Status 264 11. GIVE PEACE A CHANCE 268 Good and Evil at Columbine High School 271 Football and Toxic High School Environments 280 Columbine Retrospective 289 Peace Education 298 Peace 313 12. References 318 13. Methodological Appendix
Les mer
"Larkin creates a powerful lens to examine the complexities of the forces which contributed to the Columbine tragedy. The introductory narrative of the rampage is so vivid that both the casual and studied reader will be instantly engaged... Drawing on his skill as an interviewer and researcher, Larkin is able to give the reader a glimpse of the cultural and everyday social reality of Columbine High School [and he] does an excellent job of situating school shootings in the larger cultural landscape of violence in America. Larkin's book is destined to be the definitive work on the Columbine shootings."-Raymond Calluori, New Jersey Institute of Technology "This book is not just about Harris and Klebold's motivations... It is about the influence of social structure on those labeled as outsiders, ... about structurally entrenched sources of gendered violence and degradation."-Peter Freund, Montclair State University
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The definitive book on the school massacre that shocked the world

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781592134908
Publisert
2007-01-12
Utgiver
Vendor
Temple University Press,U.S.
Høyde
229 mm
Bredde
152 mm
Dybde
23 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
272

Forfatter

Om bidragsyterne

Ralph W. Larkin, Ph.D. is owner of Academic Research Consulting Service and a Senior Research Associate, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. He is the author of Suburban Youth in Cultural Crisis and (with Daniel A. Foss) Beyond Revolution: Social Movements in Historical and Comparative Perspective.