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Disgrace is the first truly global history of sexual violence. The book explores how sexual violence varies widely across time and place, from nineteenth-century peasant women in Ireland who were abducted as a way of forcing marriage, to date-raped high-school students in twentieth-century America, and from girls and women violated by Russian soldiers in 1945 to Dalit women raped by men of higher castes today. It delves into the factors that facilitate violence including institutions, ideologies and practices but also gives voice to survivors and activists, drawing inspiration from their struggles. Ultimately, Joanna Bourke intends to forge a transnational feminism that will promote a more harmonious, equal and rape- and violence-free world.
About the author
Joanna Bourke is Professor Emerita of History at Birkbeck, University of London, a Fellow of the British Academy, and OBE. She is also the Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College. Her many books include Disgrace: Global Reflections on Sexual Violence (Reaktion, 2022).Joanna Bourke is Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London, a Fellow of the British Academy, and the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric (until 2023). Her many books include The Story of Pain: From Prayer to Painkillers (2014) and War and Art: A Visual History of Modern Conflict (2017).
Summary
The first truly global history of sexual violence, by acclaimed historian Joanna Bourke.
Report
Bold in its global vision and eminently readable, 'Disgrace' is a work of scholarship that is full of empathy and conviction. Joanna Bourke builds upon decades of her research and brings a historians omniscient eye to a topic which may be called timely, but in fact has long been a part of human history. Across geographies, cultures, and eras, the reality of sexual violence has always served as a sobering reminder of humanitys flaws and cruelties. Here is an eye-opening book to help us understand that reality more fully and to help us envision a future free of rape.', Winnie M Li, author of 'Dark Chapter' and 'Complicit', activist and rape survivor
