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This book argues that it is witnesses who are the targets of terrorism and that the question of whose witnessing counts, and which stories are the most legitimate, is of vital importance for understanding the meanings and consequences of contemporary terrorism.
List of contents
Preface Uncertainty in the Study of Terrorism The Witness of Terrorism Like a Weapon in the Street: Terrorism and the Media in the 21st Century Witnessing Terrorism and its Enduring Consequences Elder Witnesses: Witnessing Terrorism in Later/Middle Life Vampires, Lawyers, Merchant Bankers: Post-9/11 Organizations in Science Fiction Guarding the Contact Zones: Security Guards in a Time of Terror Witnessing Terrorism Notes Bibliography Index
About the author
LUKE HOWIE is Lecturer in the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University, Australia. He is also a member of the Global Terrorism Research Centre and the author of
Terrorism, the Worker and the City and Terror on the Screen.
Summary
This book argues that it is witnesses who are the targets of terrorism and that the question of whose witnessing counts, and which stories are the most legitimate, is of vital importance for understanding the meanings and consequences of contemporary terrorism.
Additional text
'Terror creates fear and only succeeds where there are witnesses to consume terror. Counter-terrorism in Luke Howie's imaginative framework means countering feelings of terror. He has written an original and critical contribution to terrorism studies in situating different categories of witnesses, and documenting their narratives of trauma and repair. Thoughtful and compassionate, Howe writes without jargon, prediction or pretence about the age of terror.' - Bryan S. Turner, Professor of Sociology, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, USA
'This impressive book not only engages critically with the specialized literature on terrorism but also introduces a new way of understanding the psychological effects of 9/11. This seminal research examines what it means when terrorists and the mass-media are inextricably intertwined. Howie brilliantly frames terrorism within the sense of uncertainty that it creates. Terrorism's power does not depend on damage or the number of casualties alone it depends on who is witnesses. Undoubtedly, Witnesses to Terror, is an all-encompassing view of terrorism, which I must confess is one of the best book I have read on the subject.' - Maximiliano E. Korstanje, University of Palermo, Argentina
Report
'Terror creates fear and only succeeds where there are witnesses to consume terror. Counter-terrorism in Luke Howie's imaginative framework means countering feelings of terror. He has written an original and critical contribution to terrorism studies in situating different categories of witnesses, and documenting their narratives of trauma and repair. Thoughtful and compassionate, Howe writes without jargon, prediction or pretence about the age of terror.' - Bryan S. Turner, Professor of Sociology, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, USA
'This impressive book not only engages critically with the specialized literature on terrorism but also introduces a new way of understanding the psychological effects of 9/11. This seminal research examines what it means when terrorists and the mass-media are inextricably intertwined. Howie brilliantly frames terrorism within the sense of uncertainty that it creates. Terrorism's power does not depend on damage or the number of casualties alone it depends on who is witnesses. Undoubtedly, Witnesses to Terror, is an all-encompassing view of terrorism, which I must confess is one of the best book I have read on the subject.' - Maximiliano E. Korstanje, University of Palermo, Argentina
