At Stake: Monsters and the Rhetoric of Fear in Public Culture

Paperback (Print)
Buy New
Buy New from BN.com
$27.58
(Save 8%)
Used and New from Other Sellers
Used and New from Other Sellers
from $26.00
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
(Save 13%)
Other sellers (Paperback)
  • All (11) from $26.00   
  • New (8) from $28.15   
  • Used (3) from $26.00   

More About This Textbook

Overview

Anyone who watches the evening news is all too familiar with how the word "monster" is used to describe acts of violence. In this book, Edward Ingebretsen sets out to discover what is really at stake when we turn someone into a "monster." The monster, he finds, serves a moralizing function in our culture, making exaggerated examples of particular evildoers in order to reaffirm prevailing standards of behavior and personal conduct.

Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780226380070
  • Publisher: University of Chicago Press
  • Publication date: 12/28/2008
  • Series: Supreme Court Review Ser.
  • Edition description: 1
  • Pages: 355
  • Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 9.00 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

Edward J. Ingebretsen is an associate professor of English and director of American studies at Georgetown University. He is the author of Maps of Heaven, Maps of Hell: Religious Terror as Memory from the Puritans to Stephen King and Robert Frost's Star in a Stone Boat: A Grammar of Belief.

Read More Show Less

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Prologue: What the Angel Said
Introduction: Thinking about Monsters 1
1 Gothic Returns: Haunts and Profits 19
2 Drive-by Shouting 43
3 Redressing Andrew: Cunanan's Killing Queerness 71
4 Susan Smith: When Angels Fall 99
5 Reading the Starr: Scandal and Auguries 125
6 Death by Narrative 153
7 Sacred Monster: Matthew Shepard 177
Coda: Common Weal, Common Woe 203
Notes 209
Selected Bibliography 295
Index 329
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
    If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
    Why is this product inappropriate?
    Comments (optional)