Synopses & Reviews
Political assassinations are always shocking and traumatic; sometimes however they lead to a cultural trauma, that is, a broad public debate about the foundations of collective identity. The theory of cultural trauma is applied in this book to six political assassinations, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy in the United States, Olof Palme and Anna Lindh in Sweden and Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh in the Netherlands. Only in the Swedish case did a cultural trauma not emerge, this book explains why it did not and why it did in the case of the United States and the Netherlands.
Review
“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
Synopsis
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
Synopsis
This volume develops the theory of cultural trauma, a key research program in the Strong Program of Cultural Sociology. In regard to the shattering potential effects of political assassinations, Eyerman examines such effects on 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.
About the Author
Ron Eyerman is Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Center for Cultural Sociology at Yale University. He is the author of The Assassination of Theo van Gogh (2008) and Cultural Trauma Slavery and the Formation of African American Identity (2001).
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