Violent Fury: Can Third-party Outrage Manifest Cyclical, Mimetic Violence?

Public articulations of outrage about wrongdoing and its perpetrators seem ubiquitous, especially on social media, and often seek worthy objectives such as justice for the wronged. However, expressions of outrage can sometimes lead to an innocent person’s career being destroyed or even the endangeri...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Political theology
Main Author: Culhane, Elizabeth C. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group 2018
In: Political theology
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Outrage / Social media / Mimesis / Violent behavior
RelBib Classification:NCD Political ethics
ZB Sociology
ZD Psychology
Further subjects:B Outrage
B Violence
B Social media
B Emotion
B Mimetic Theory
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Public articulations of outrage about wrongdoing and its perpetrators seem ubiquitous, especially on social media, and often seek worthy objectives such as justice for the wronged. However, expressions of outrage can sometimes lead to an innocent person’s career being destroyed or even the endangering of their life. How might we understand such devastating outcomes from a phenomenon that seeks to respond to violence? This paper sees outrage as an emotion whereby one appraises that someone has harmed another and/or violated moral norms. It evaluates how third parties’ public articulations of their outrage can manifest the cyclical violence of Girardian mimetic theory. By engaging with Mark Brewin’s claims about the revelatory function of texts, the paper proposes a nuanced understanding of the relation between social media and the prominence and prevalence of contemporary outrage. It seeks to contribute to analyses of outrage using Girardian theory, especially in political emotion research.
Item Description:Das gedruckte Heft ist als Doppelheft erschienen: "Volume 19 Numbers 1-2 February-March 2018"
ISSN:1743-1719
Contains:Enthalten in: Political theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/1462317X.2017.1383343