Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance

From the Renaissance witch craze to the denunciation of horror comics and rock and roll in the 1950s and flag burning in the late twentieth and the early twenty-first century, institutions and groups of individuals have mobilized around issues where they feel threatened.

This book introduces, describes, and analyzes the collective outbreaks of scares about threats or supposed threats from deviants or "folk devils," a category of people who, some believe, engage in evil practices and are blamed for menacing the society's culture, way of life, and central values.

Examining what motivates fear- and concern-inspired collective behavior, the second edition of Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance comprehensively updates this popular and highly respected text, bringing in a host of new examples, and new chapters on the media and criticisms of the moral panics concept.

From the Renaissance witch craze to the denunciation of horror comics and rock and roll in the 1950s and flag burning in the late twentieth and the early twenty-first century, institutions and groups of individuals have mobilized around issues where they feel threatened.

This book introduces, describes, and analyzes the collective outbreaks of scares about threats or supposed threats from deviants or “folk devils,” a category of people who, some believe, engage in evil practices and are blamed for menacing the society’s culture, way of life, and central values.

Examining what motivates fear- and concern-inspired collective behavior, the second edition of Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance comprehensively updates this popular and highly-respected text, bringing in a host of new examples, and new chapters on the media and criticisms of the moral panics concept.

Booknews

A wide-ranging account of "moral panics" that shows how and why institutions and groups of individuals mobilize around issues and supposed problems by which they feel threatened. From the Renaissance witch craze to the American drug panic of the 1980s, the authors explore the genesis, dynamics, and demise of moral panics, and examine their impacts on the societies in which they take place. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Erich Goode is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His previous books include The Marijuana Smokers (1970), Collective Behavior (1992), Deviance in Everyday Life (2002), Extreme Deviance (edited with Angus Vail, 2008), Drugs in American Society (7^th edition, 2008), and Deviant Behavior (8^th edition, 2008).

Nachman Ben-Yehuda is Professor of Sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His publications include Deviance and Moral Boundaries (1985), The Politics and Morality of Deviance (1990), Political Assassinations by Jews: A Rhetorical Device for Justice (1993), The Masada Myth (1995), Betrayals and Treason (2001), and Selective Remembrances (edited with Philip Kohl and Mara Kozelsky, 2007).