Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments


Introduction

1  The Cultural-Historical Foundations of Bullying Culture

A Brief Synopsis of Cultural Change
Religion and Shame: The Historical Possibility of Redemption
The Socialization of Children and the Root of Contemporary Shame 
Constructing a Social Problem: Bullying and the Double-Edged Sword of the Media

2  Social Forces and Bullying

Gossip
Laughter
Stereotypes and Categories
Competition

3  Shame and Identity

Shame: The Social Mechanics of a Social Emotion
Shame and Anger
The Psychodynamics of Anger and the Neurodynamics of Pain 
Guilt
Re-visioning Shame: The Strengths and Weaknesses of a New Paradigm
Summary

4  Grieving and Grief Work: Negotiating Social Pain and Personal Loss

Traditional Conceptualizations of Grief 
New Models of Grieving and Grief Work
Bullying: A Special Case of Loss and the Pitfall of Rumination
Rumination and Depression: Social-Psychological-Neurological
Interface
A Final Note

5  Narrative Writing and the Reconstruction of Self

Overview
Storying the Brain
Expressive Writing: Integrating the Neural, the Social, and the Psychological
Storying Experiences: Writing Chaos and the Reclamation of Voice Memory
Narrating an Audience and Defining a Victim: The Paradox of Social Stories
A Final Note

6   Tying Up Loose Ends: Challenges to Bystanders, Challenges of Cyberspace

Everyone Else: A Breakdown of Bystander Responsibility
Cyberspace: New Dynamics, New Challenges, New Potentials

Postscript: Practical Suggestions

Appendix A: The Uniqueness of Self and Personal Biography

Appendix B: The Re-visioning of Liberation and Womanist Theologies

Appendix C: Scheff and Retzinger: The Redemptive Role of Communication?

Appendix D: Lyn Lofland’s “Threads of Social Connectedness?

Appendix E: The Dynamics Underlying Expressive Writing: Why Does It Work?

Appendix F: Traumarama!, Seventeen Magazine, and Prepackaged Shame

Notes

References

Index

Promotional Information

Offering a new understanding of bullying, linking it with insights into the construction of identity

About the Author

Laura Martocci is a sociologist and the Founder and Director of the S.A.R.A. Project® (Students Against Relational Aggression).  Most recently, she was a faculty member and an Associate Dean at Wagner College.

Reviews

The approach (like the phenomenon itself) is complex and multifaceted and Martocci draws from social science and social theory, social psychology, and psychoanalysis. I am certain that it will have a wide appeal to both academics working in cultural studies, to educators, and to practitioners and clinicians working on this social problem. --E. Doyle McCarthy