My favorite books on thinking about how violence can shape our lives

Why am I passionate about this?

I am Professor of Early Modern Literature at Bangor University, Wales UK and Research Fellow at the Institut de Recherche sur la Renaissance, l'Âge Classique et les Lumières, Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier 3, France. I am someone who has been interested throughout his career in all aspects of what used to be called the European Renaissance and especially in establishing a dialogue between cultural debates raging four hundred years ago and those which dominate our own everyday lives in the twenty-first century. In the past, my work has addressed ideas, for example, concerned with social theory, the construction of cultural space, and the significance of memory.


I wrote...

Shakespeare, Violence and Early Modern Europe

By Andrew Hiscock,

Book cover of Shakespeare, Violence and Early Modern Europe

What is my book about?

This study is primarily concerned with thinking about Shakespearean texts in an international context of early modern Europe: how does the dramatist emerge when we see him writing plays, such as Histories, which intersect with continental politics and are being responded to by international audiences at that time?

Centrally, I investigate the ways in which violence in its many forms (physical, psychological, legal, religious…) can shape the ways in which we read these texts and interpret the world around us, then and now. 

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Aspects of Violence: A Critical Theory

Andrew Hiscock Why did I love this book?

This is an immensely readable book and a wonderful introduction to the very different ways in which violence might be interpreted from a dizzying range of perspectives.

Schinkel urges us to reflect on our appetites for violence in our reading matter, our cinema and theatre-going, and our hunger for news. He also poses thorny questions about the ‘productive’ potential of violent action.

By W. Schinkel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Aspects of Violence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book provides a novel approach to the social scientific study of violence. It argues for an 'extended' definition of violence in order to avoid subscribing to commonsensical or state propagated definitions of violence, and pays specific attention to 'autotelic violence' (violence for the sake of itself), as well as to terrorism.


Book cover of Conflict And The Web of Group-Affiliations

Andrew Hiscock Why did I love this book?

This is now a well-recognised and established intervention in the ongoing debate about the status and function of violence of life in society.

Simmel makes particularly telling points in his discussion of the ways in which group identities may be forged and maintained through violent action and the costs that may be incurred by resisting such social practices.

By George Simmel, Kurt H. Wolff (translator), Reinhard Bendix (translator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Conflict And The Web of Group-Affiliations as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Two major essays on the dynamics of social organization by the great German philosopher and social theorist Georg Simmel.


Book cover of Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable?

Andrew Hiscock Why did I love this book?

This book is particularly enlightening concerning the ways in which cultural value may be attributed to individual bodies, armed conflict, and, indeed, to human life itself in different political, geographical, and military circumstances.

Butler compels us to examine our own practices of compassion, partisanship, and/or habits of interpretation as we (or the media) move from one location to another around the globe.

By Judith Butler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Frames of War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this urgent response to violence, racism and increasingly aggressive methods of coercion, Judith Butler explores the media's portrayal of armed conflict, a process integral to how the West prosecutes its wars. In doing so, she calls for a reconceptualization of the Left, one united in opposition and resistance to the illegitimate and arbitrary effects of interventionist military action.


Book cover of Sweet Violence: The Idea of the Tragic

Andrew Hiscock Why did I love this book?

This book engages with questions of violence, suffering, and cultural value both in terms of literature and critical debate.

Eagleton asks us to consider how society may invest in and elsewhere venerate certain kinds of experience (e.g., inflicting pain, victimisation, witnessing destruction), which initially we may expect to be demonised.

By Terry Eagleton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sweet Violence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Terry Eagleton's Tragedy provides a major critical and analytical account of the concept of 'tragedy' from its origins in the Ancient world right down to the twenty-first century.

A major new intellectual endeavour from one of the world's finest, and most controversial, cultural theorists.
Provides an analytical account of the concept of 'tragedy' from its origins in the ancient world to the present day.
Explores the idea of the 'tragic' across all genres of writing, as well as in philosophy, politics, religion and psychology, and throughout western culture.
Considers the psychological, religious and socio-political implications and consequences of our fascination…


Book cover of Violence: Six Sideways Reflections

Andrew Hiscock Why did I love this book?

This book is a meditation on the ways in which violence has come to shape everyday life in the modern age, from the international political stage to scenes of our own daily routines.

Particularly poignant and thought-provoking are Žižek’s considerations of how inactivity, passivity, and reluctance to engage may ultimately be the most violent courses of action to adopt.

By Slavoj Zizek,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Violence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


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Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old?: Plan Now to Safeguard Your Health and Happiness in Old Age

By Joy Loverde,

Book cover of Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old?: Plan Now to Safeguard Your Health and Happiness in Old Age

Joy Loverde

New book alert!

What is my book about?

Everything you need to know to plan for your own safe, financially secure, healthy, and happy old age.

For those who have no support system in place, the thought of aging without help can be a frightening, isolating prospect. Whether you have friends and family ready and able to help you or not, growing old does not have to be an inevitable decline into helplessness. It is possible to maintain a good quality of life in your later years, but having a plan is essential. Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old? Equips readers with everything they need to prepare on their own:

Advice on the tough medical, financial, and housing decisions to come Real solutions to create a support network Questions about aging solo readers don't know to ask Customizable worksheets and checklists that help keep plans on course Guidance on new products, services, technology, and resources

Who Will Take Care of Me When I'm Old?: Plan Now to Safeguard Your Health and Happiness in Old Age

By Joy Loverde,

What is this book about?

For those who have no support system in place, the thought of aging without help can be a frightening, isolating prospect. Whether you have friends and family ready and able to help you or not, growing old does not have to be an inevitable decline into helplessness. It is possible to maintain a good quality of life in your later years, but having a plan is essential. WHO WILL TAKE CARE OF ME WHEN I'M OLD? equips readers with everything they need to prepare on their own:

* Advice on the tough medical, financial, and housing decisions to come
*…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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