The goal of this volume is to discuss and analyze various contours of violence as it is made manifest around the world. This foundational collection of essays, stories, and poems represent a wide variety of disciplines and perspectives. The unifying theme is that violence is not a thing, but rather a dynamic force occurring among separate, conscious minds that is enhanced by the careful scrutiny of social science.

Researchers have identified that angry rumination may mediate the association between mindfulness and aggression. The current investigation aims to replicate and extend prior work by including a clinical sample of partner-violent men and by focusing on intimate partner violence rather than aggression aimed at an unspecified other. This investigation tested the hypothesis that angry rumination would mediate the association between mindfulness and two forms of intimate partner violence: emotional abuse and physical assault. Study 1 consisted of 237 undergraduate students (74.68% identified as women, 24.89% men, and 0.42% other; 1.69% identified as American Indian/Alaskan Native, 34.18% Asian-American, 19.41% Black/African-American, 11.39% Hispanic/Latino, 1.27% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 37.13% White/European-American, 6.75% Other; Mage = 21.18) and Study 2 consisted of 132 men (0.69% identified as American Indian/Alaskan Native, 3.37% Asian, 34.03% Black/African-American, 12.50% Hispanic/Latino, 0% Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian, 32.64% White/Caucasian, 4.86% other, 4.17% multiethnic/multiracial; Mage = 35.98) who attended a community-based treatment program for the perpetration of IPV and completed measures prior to treatment. Angry rumination mediated the association between mindfulness and emotional abuse in both samples, but angry rumination did not mediate the (proposed) association between mindfulness and physical assault in either sample. It is notable that mindfulness was significantly associated with physical assault in the clinical sample, but that it was not significantly associated with physical assault in the undergraduate sample. Analyses continued to indicate that angry rumination statistically mediated the association between mindfulness and emotional abuse above and beyond demographic control variables in each sample. Analyses also continued to indicate that angry rumination did not statistically mediate the proposed association between mindfulness and physical assault above and beyond demographic control variables in either sample. Findings support recent efforts to tailor mindfulness-based interventions to target emotional abuse and highlight the importance of further investigating angry rumination and mindfulness in the context of IPV.

A law professor and former prosecutor reveals how inconsistent ideas about violence, enshrined in law, are at the root of the problems that plague our entire criminal justice system—from mass incarceration to police brutality. We take for granted that some crimes are violent and others aren’t. But how do we decide what counts as a violent act? David Alan Sklansky argues that legal notions about violence—its definition, causes, and moral significance—are functions of political choices, not eternal truths. And these choices are central to failures of our criminal justice system. The common distinction between violent and nonviolent acts, for example, played virtually no role in criminal law before the latter half of the twentieth century. Yet to this day, with more crimes than ever called “violent,” this distinction determines how we judge the seriousness of an offense, as well as the perpetrator’s debt and danger to society. Similarly, criminal law today treats violence as a pathology of individual character. But in other areas of law, including the procedural law that covers police conduct, the situational context of violence carries more weight. The result of these inconsistencies, and of society’s unique fear of violence since the 1960s, has been an application of law that reinforces inequities of race and class, undermining law’s legitimacy. A Pattern of Violence shows that novel legal philosophies of violence have motivated mass incarceration, blunted efforts to hold police accountable, constrained responses to sexual assault and domestic abuse, pushed juvenile offenders into adult prisons, encouraged toleration of prison violence, and limited responses to mass shootings. Reforming legal notions of violence is therefore an essential step toward justice.

With hilarious insights, observations, and personal anecdotes on everything from partying all night, to learning to do laundry, to falling asleep in class, Aaron Karo has captured the college experience like never before. It took college freshman Aaron Karo only one week to realize that college was a joke -- an especially funny one that he could share with his friends in a regular email newsletter about life on campus. By his senior year, Ruminations on College Life had become an international phenomenon. Now, for the first time in print, here is the best of the original ezine, previously unpublished material, and brand new introductions to each section by the author. Share in the absurdity and insanity of the college experience with Karo as you read his outrageous inside account of scheming students, crazy professors, confused parents, and rowdy frat boys. Perfect for anyone who is destined for college, currently surviving it, or already a veteran, this book is a cult classic readers can enjoy alone or read out loud at their next party for tons of laughs.

This provocative thesis calls violence the driving force not just of war, but of politics and even social stability. Though violence is commonly deplored, political scientist Ginsberg argues that in many ways it is indispensable, unavoidable, and valuable. Ginsberg sees violence manifested in society in many ways. "Law-preserving violence" (using Walter Benjamin's phrase) is the chief means by which society preserves social order. Behind the security of a stable society are the blunt instruments of the police, prisons, and the power of the bureaucratic state to coerce and manipulate. Ginsberg also discusses violence as a tool of social change, whether used in outright revolution or as a means of reform in public protests or the threat of insurrection. He notes that even groups committed to nonviolent tactics rely on the violent reactions of their opponents to achieve their ends. And to avoid the threat of unrest, modern states resort to social welfare systems (a prudent use of the carrot instead of the stick). Emphasizing the unavoidability of violence to create major change, Ginsberg points out that few today would trade our current situation for the alternative had our forefathers not resorted to the violence of the American Revolution and the Civil War.

Featuring a unique overview of the different forms of extreme violence, this book considers the psychology of extreme violence alongside a variety of contributing factors, such as brain abnormalities in homicide offenders. Featuring several contemporary real-world case studies, this book offers insight into the psychology of serial homicide offenders, mass shooters, school shooters and lone-actor terrorists. The main purpose of this book is not to glorify or condemn the actions of these individuals, but to attempt to explain the motivations and circumstances that inspire such acts of extreme violence. By adopting a detailed case study approach, it aims to increase our understanding of the specific motivations and psychological factors underlying extreme violence. Using nontechnical language, this book is the ideal companion for students, researchers, and forensic practitioners interested in the multidisciplinary nature of extreme violence. This book will also be of interest to students taking courses on homicide, mass shooting, school shooting, terrorism, forensic psychology and criminology and criminal justice.