Douglas Kellner: Campus Violence May Be Linked to Male Identity Crisis
July 25, 2012 - In an essay for the Huffington Post, Professor of education Douglas Kellner suggests that young men trying to create ultra masculine identities commit acts of campus violence. Crises of masculinity have given rise to an epidemic of school shootings worldwide, committed by young men who through acts of violence create a media spectacle that also brings them instantaneous fame and celebrity, argues Kellner in a Huffington Post blog.
"School shootings attract maximum media attention and shooters, craving publicity and the public eye, gravitate towards schools," states Kellner.
Professor Kellner further suggests that although the adoption of a more thorough policy addressing access to guns is an essential next step towards treating the problem, more effective gun control alone will not be enough.
"Underlying causes of rampant gun violence include increasing societal alienation, frustration, anger, and rage in schools, universities, workplaces, public spaces, and communities," writes Kellner. "We need better mental health facilities and monitoring of troubled individuals, and also of institutions."
To read Professor Kellner's essay and to join in on the discussion, click here.
- Kathy Wyer
