DOCSLIB.ORG

The Normalization of Sexual Harassment in Ontario Schools As Revealed Through Teachers’ Stories

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Normalization of Sexual Harassment in Ontario Schools As Revealed Through Teachers’ Stories View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Brock University Digital Repository Running head: THE NORMALIZATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT “It’s just inappropriate”: The normalization of sexual harassment in Ontario schools as revealed through teachers’ stories Lauren Quinn, B.A Social Justice and Equity Studies Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Faculty of Social Sciences, Brock University St. Catharines, Ontario © 2016 THE NORMALIZATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN SCHOOLS ii Dedication I dedicate this thesis project to Rehtaeh Parsons, Amanda Todd and their families. Although a lot of the media coverage of these two cases has quieted down since I began my thesis, there are still many researchers, feminists, bloggers and teachers who have not forgotten these girls and the horrible trauma that they experienced. We are still here marching in the streets, writing and critiquing rape culture discourses that make the world unsafe for many marginalized folks including girls, women, gender-nonconforming folks, boys, and men who do not adhere to the desired “dominant” versions of masculinity. When I thought about Rehtaeh and Amanda during those late nights and early mornings working on this project, it reminded me why I had chosen to write about sexual violence and encouraged me to keep writing. THE NORMALIZATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN SCHOOLS iii Abstract This study examines teachers’ experiences witnessing and addressing the sexual harassment of girls by boys in elementary and secondary schools in Southern Ontario. Through a feminist, poststructural framework using feminist methodologies, I interviewed seven teachers from different schools in order to determine teachers’ experiences witnessing, addressing and hearing about student-to-student sexual harassment. Although participants’ experiences varied, their responses revealed that sexual harassment is normalized, naturalized and reinforced in secondary and elementary schools. Themes that surfaced revealed how their understandings of sexual harassment existed outside of power relations; how language is “softened” when describing sexual harassment and sexism; how the seriousness of sexual harassment was minimized; and how gendered Islamophobia intersected with the normalization of sexual harassment. Acts of resistance challenging pervasive discourses that normalize the sexual harassment of girls by boys also arose during interviews. Key words: sexual harassment; sexism; feminist poststructuralism; teachers; gendered Islamophobia; rape culture; gender THE NORMALIZATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN SCHOOLS iv Acknowledgements In the first year of my undergrad, my Dad told me that school is not necessarily about academic intelligence, but emotional intelligence. I came to fully understand what he meant through the construction of this thesis. I truly could not have completed this project without the support from my friends, family and the SJES community helping me persevere when there sometimes seemed to be no end in sight. First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you to my incredibly talented advisor, Rebecca Raby for being so supportive and offering such attentive academic and “life” advice. Rebecca, you have challenged me while also providing me with such support and I am so grateful to you. Thank you to Mary-Beth Raddon as Program Director for all your continued support throughout the three years that I have worked on my thesis and for leaving extra food for us hungry students in the grad lab. You will truly be missed as Program Director. Thank you to my very understanding and patient committee members, Nancy Taber and Leanne Taylor for their diligent and insightful comments. I’m incredibly humbled by all the wisdom you have shared with me in this project. Thank you Dad for the clam chowder that I consumed for nourishment while completing the daunting tasks of the thesis. Thank you Mom for instilling in me that education is important and for introducing me to feminism. You’ve taught me that discourses truly are competing and complex. Thank you to my Auntie Doreen and Uncle Garry for supporting me like second parents and providing me a comfortable bed during visits back home. THE NORMALIZATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN SCHOOLS v Thank you to all the friends and family members for sending me funny memes on the days when I felt like I was trying to make lemonade out of lemons that had no juice left. Thank you Jenna Parry for acting as my “thesis midwife” during the last final pushes and for disappearing into the woods with me for two weeks to focus on our writing. Thank you to my SJES family, Blaire, Lisa, Dan, Katie P., Ezgi, Kate Macdonald, Carissa, Jenna and Sam. We have been through some amazing ups and downs together and I’ve gained incredibly valuable insights in the world because of you. Thank you for being an incredible mentor to me, Judy Colangelo and for all your continued support and amazing work supporting survivors of sexual violence. Thank you to all the feminist bloggers, the Brock SASA team (Students Against Sexual Assault) and campus activists for bringing the concepts that I have been writing about into practice. THE NORMALIZATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN SCHOOLS vi Table of Contents Title Page _____________________________________________________________ i Dedication ____________________________________________________________ ii Abstract _____________________________________________________________ iii Acknowledgement _____________________________________________________ iv Table of Contents _____________________________________________________ vi Introduction ___________________________________________________________ 1 Chapter 1: Literature Review _____________________________________________ 9 Introduction _________________________________________________________ 9 Defining sexual harassment ___________________________________________ 10 Homophobia and the regulation of heterosexuality _________________________ 11 School dress codes and their role in perpetuating sexual harassment ____________ 13 Anti-bullying discourses ______________________________________________ 15 Teachers’ experiences ________________________________________________ 19 Understandings of sexual harassment _________________________________ 19 Perceptions of masculine violence ____________________________________ 22 Personal experiences with sexual harassment ___________________________ 22 Working conditions, resources, support and education ____________________ 25 Conclusion _________________________________________________________ 30 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework – Feminist Poststructuralism ______________ 31 Introduction ________________________________________________________ 31 Poststructuralism: A challenge to humanism ______________________________ 33 Humanism and poststructuralism _____________________________________ 36 Poststructuralism and the education system _____________________________ 37 Agency in poststructuralism ___________________________________________ 38 Language __________________________________________________________ 39 Discourse in poststructuralism _________________________________________ 41 Competing discourses _____________________________________________ 44 The dominant discourses of masculinity _______________________________ 45 The dominant discourses of femininity ________________________________ 47 Performing “correct” identities of masculinity and femininity ______________ 49 How the gendering of students perpetuates sexual harassment _____________ 52 How discourses sustaining compulsory heterosexuality perpetuate sexual harassment _________________________________________________________ 53 Challenging existing discourses: resistance _______________________________ 55 Chapter 3: Methodology and Method _____________________________________ 61 Introduction ________________________________________________________ 61 Qualitiative, Feminist Poststructuralist Methodology ________________________ 61 Method: Interviews __________________________________________________ 64 Recruitment _____________________________________________________ 66 Participants ______________________________________________________ 69 Ethics and informed consent ________________________________________ 71 The interview questions ____________________________________________ 72 Fulfilling social justice goals / challenging dominant discourses ____________ 76 THE NORMALIZATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN SCHOOLS vii Reflexivity in feminist poststructural research ___________________________ 77 Coding the data ___________________________________________________ 81 The researchers’ role in making meaning ______________________________ 84 Limitations in research _____________________________________________ 86 Conclusion _________________________________________________________ 87 Chapter 4: Findings ____________________________________________________ 88 Introduction ________________________________________________________ 88 Understanding Sexual Harassment Outside of Power Relations _______________ 89 Conflating sexual harassment with consensual sexual acts between adolescents 90 Conflating sexual harassment with adolescent males’ sexual attraction and desire __________________________________________________________________ 97 Conflating sexual harassment with sexual attraction and sexual orientation ___ 100 Conclusion _____________________________________________________ 102 Language that normalizes
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Decl. of Alexandra Robert Gordon (2:17-Cv-00903-WBS-KJN) Exhibit 29
    1 XAVIER BECERRA, State Bar No. 118517 Attorney General of California 2 TAMAR PACHTER, State Bar No. 146083 Supervising Deputy Attorney General 3 ALEXANDRA ROBERT GORDON, State Bar No. 207650 JOHN D. ECHEVERRIA, State Bar No. 268843 4 Deputy Attorneys General 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Suite 11000 5 San Francisco, CA 94102-7004 Telephone: (415) 703-5509 6 Fax: (415) 703-5480 E-mail: [email protected] 7 Attorneys for Defendants 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 12 13 WILLIAM WIESE, et al., 2:17-cv-00903-WBS-KJN 14 Plaintiff, EXHIBITS 29 THROUGH 34 TO THE DECLARATION OF ALEXANDRA 15 v. ROBERT GORDON IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR 16 TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER XAVIER BECERRA, et al., AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION 17 Defendant. Date: June 16, 2017 18 Time: 10:00 a.m. Courtroom: 5 19 Judge: The Honorable William B. Shubb Action Filed: April 28, 2017 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Decl. of Alexandra Robert Gordon (2:17-cv-00903-WBS-KJN) Exhibit 29 Gordon Declaration 00856 Mass Shootings at Virginia Tech April 16, 2007 Report of the Review Panel Presented to Governor Kaine Commonwealth of Virginia AUGUST 2007 Gordon Declaration 00857 Chapter III TIMELINE OF EVENTS he following timeline provides an overview of family. He has serious health problems from Tthe events leading up to the tragedy on April 9 months to 3 years old, is frail, and after 16, and then the actions taken on April 16. The unpleasant medical procedures does not time scale switches from years to months to days want to be touched.
    [Show full text]
  • Online Hate and Harmful Content
    Online Hate and Harmful Content In times of ever-increasing changes in technology and online socio-cultural trends, there is a constant and pressing need for updated knowledge. This book provides the most up-to-date study of online hate speech and harms associated with the Internet. By presenting ground-breaking comparative research and intro- ducing new concepts such as Identity Bubble Reinforcement, it breaks new ground both empirically and theoretically. Sveinung Sandberg, Professor, University of Oslo Over the past few decades, various types of hate material have caused increasing concern. Today, the scope of hate is wider than ever, as easy and often-anonymous access to an enormous amount of online content has opened the Internet up to both use and abuse. By providing possibilities for inexpensive and instantaneous access without ties to geographic location or a user identification system, the Internet has permitted hate groups and individuals espousing hate to transmit their ideas to a worldwide audience. Online Hate and Harmful Content focuses on the role of potentially harmful online content, particularly among young people. This focus is explored through two approaches: first, the commonality of online hate through cross-national survey statistics. This includes a discussion of the various implications of online hate for young people in terms of, for example, subjective wellbeing, trust, self- image and social relationships. Second, the book examines theoretical frame- works from the fields of sociology, social psychology and criminology that are useful for understanding online behaviour and online victimisation. Limitations of past theory are assessed and complemented with a novel theoretical model linking past work to the online environment as it exists today.
    [Show full text]
  • Active Shooter: Recommendations and Analysis for Risk Mitigation
    . James P. O’Neill . Police Commissioner . John J. Miller . Deputy Commissioner of . Intelligence and . Counterterrorism ACTIVE SHOOTER James R. Waters RECOMMENDATIONS AND ANALYSIS Chief of Counterterrorism FOR RISK MITIGATION 2016 EDITION AS RELEASED BY THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................3 RECENT TRENDS ........................................................................................................................6 TRAINING & AWARENESS CHALLENGE RESPONSE .................................................................................... 6 THE TARGETING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT & MILITARY PERSONNEL: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRIVATE SECURITY ........ 7 ATTACKERS INSPIRED BY A RANGE OF IDEOLOGIES PROMOTING VIOLENCE ................................................... 8 SOCIAL MEDIA PROVIDES POTENTIAL INDICATORS, SUPPORTS RESPONSE .................................................... 9 THE POPULARITY OF HANDGUNS, RIFLES, AND BODY ARMOR NECESSITATES SPECIALIZED TRAINING .............. 10 BARRICADE AND HOSTAGE-TAKING REMAIN RARE OCCURRENCES IN ACTIVE SHOOTER EVENTS .................... 10 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................11 POLICY .........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Review of the Status of Cyberbullying and Cyberbullying Prevention
    Journal of Information Systems Education, Vol. 25(1) Spring 2014 Review of the Status of Cyberbullying and Cyberbullying Prevention June F. Chisholm, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Pace University New York, 10038, U.S.A. [email protected] ABSTRACT Cyberbullying may be one of the “diseases” of the 21th Century. Despite efforts to curtail its incidence and prevalence over the past 20 years, its direct and indirect harmful effects have made it a public concern about the wellbeing of children, adolescents, and adults. Empirical studies as well as psychological theories have addressed different aspects of cyberbullying (e.g. characteristics of victims, bullies, and bystanders, prevalence rates, specific types of cyberbullying behavior, gender differences, intervention/prevention strategies, legal/legislative measures, etc.). While consensus is evident in some areas researched, significant findings in other areas are inconsistent, indicative of the inherent complexities of this phenomenon and the methodological problems hampering insight into the nature of this problem and its possible solutions. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the current status of the research and theoretical perspectives on cyberbullying in hopes of encouraging good scholarship, improved methodologies and thoughtful inquiries to better inform educators, parents, mental health service providers, policy makers and others so that they can more effectively promote healthy online and offline behaviors among digital users. This discussion reviews the definition and characteristics of cyberbullying, its prevalence, populations affected, gender differences, theoretical perspectives and issues of intervention and prevention. Keywords: Ethics, Information & communication technologies (ICT), Interpersonal skills, Online programming, Social Networking, Student expectations, Student perceptions, Student responsibility, Virtual reality 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Suicide on Campus: the Appropriate Legal Responsibility of College Personnel
    MARQUETTE LAW REVIEW Volume 91 Spring 2008 Number 3 SUICIDE ON CAMPUS: THE APPROPRIATE LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY OF COLLEGE PERSONNEL ANN MACLEAN MASSIE* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRO D U CTIO N ........................................................................... 627 II. SCOPE AND NATURE OF THE PROBLEM .................................. 632 III. THE CASE FOR LIABILITY: TORT LAW .................................... 637 A. Restatement (Second) Section 314A and Restatement (Third) Section 40: "Special Relationships".. 637 B. FERPA: Not a Valid Defense Now ................................. 646 C. ... But the ProposedAmendment Would Offer Valuable Clarification ........................................................... 651 IV. THE ARGUMENT FROM PSYCHOLOGY ..................................... 653 A. Mental Health Issues on Campus ......................................... 654 B. Brain Development Studies: A New Avenue to B ehavioralR esearch................................................................ 659 V. THE ARGUMENT FROM MORALITY .......................................... 665 * Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University School of Law; M.T.S., 2005, Candler School of Theology, Emory University; J.D., 1971, University of Virginia; B.A., 1966, Duke University. The assistance of the Frances Lewis Law Center, Washington and Lee University School of Law, is gratefully acknowledged. I would also like to thank my very able research assistants, Michael McCarthy, Brian Reddan, Erick Carlson, and Brian Wilberg, without whose help this project
    [Show full text]
  • 2012 the Fibreculture Journal Celebrated Ten Years of Open Access Scholarly Publishing with the Publication of Its 20Th Issue
    The Fibreculture Journal DIGITAL MEDIA + NETWORKS + TRANSDISCIPLINARY CRITIQUE Issue 22 : 2013 Trolls and The Negative Space of The Internet edited by Glen Fuller, Christian McCrea and Jason Wilson The LOCKSS System has the permission to collect, preserve and serve this open access Archival Unit This Isuue of the Fibreculture Journal by The Fibrecul- ture Journal Incorporated is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The Fibreculture Journal is published by The Fibreculture Journal Incorporated in partnership with Open Humanities Press. ISSN: 1449 – 1443 , Published in Sydney, Australia Fibreculture Journal Inc. in partnership with The Open Humanities Press 2013 The journal is peer reviewed as per section 4.3.4 of the Australian HERDC Specifications. About the Fibreculture Journal The Fibreculture Journal is a peer reviewed international journal, first published in 2003 to ex- plore the issues and ideas of concern to the Fibreculture network. The Fibreculture Journal now serves wider social formations across the international community of those thinking critically about, and working with, contemporary digital and networked media. The Fibreculture Journal has an international Editorial Board and Committee. In 2008, the Fibreculture Journal became a part of the Open Humanities Press , a key initiative in the development of the Open Access journal community. In 2012 the Fibreculture Journal celebrated ten years of open access scholarly publishing with the publication of its 20th Issue. The journal encourages critical and speculative interventions in the debate and discussions concerning a wide range of topics of interest. These include the social and cultural contexts, phi- losophy and politics of contemporary media technologies and events, with a special emphasis on the ongoing social, technical and conceptual transitions involved.
    [Show full text]
  • Contextualizing Amanda Todd Within the “My Secrets” Video Genre
    “I HAVE NO ONE, I NEED SOMEONE”: CONTEXTUALIZING AMANDA TODD WITHIN THE “MY SECRETS” VIDEO GENRE by Joanne Farrall A thesis submitted to the Department of Gender Studies in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada March 2015 Copyright ©Joanne Caitlin Farrall, 2015 Abstract The 2012 suicide of BC teenager Amanda Todd captured Canadian and worldwide imaginations in part because of Amanda’s impassioned plea for help on YouTube a month prior to her suicide. My project contextualizes Amanda’s death within the genre of “My Secrets” YouTube confessional videos, as well as within and against larger neoliberal discourses about violence, especially violence facilitated by the Internet. I coded 162 My Secrets videos produced on YouTube between 2008 and 2013 and compared their contents to media accounts of youth suicides that took place during this time period in North American contexts. My subsequent analysis traces and critiques not only public conceptualizations of bullying, but also Western mainstream commitments to (cyber)bullying discourses that stem from a history of racist colonial violence and are used to justify ongoing systemic violence against, and surveillance of, marginalized peoples. Videos in this emergent genre demonstrate the enormous pressure under which young women who are experiencing violence are compelled to present a positive story, as well as the failure of neoliberal culture to deal with the realities of youth trauma. Ultimately, my study suggests that My Secrets videos contain simultaneously resistant and disciplinary possibilities. ii Figure 1 “My Secrets” by MsJaelo CONTENT NOTE This project balances the reproduction and analysis of stories that are told in My Secrets videos, in the media, and on the Internet, with the dangers of reproducing objectifying discourses that reduce people to their suffering.
    [Show full text]
  • 2015 MCAO Annual Report
    2015 Annual Report 1 Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Message from Maricopa County Attorney, Bill Montgomery In 2015, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office successfully fulfilled its mission to provide a safe and well-governed community by delivering high-quality prosecution, comprehensive victims’ services, crime prevention programs, and legal representation for County government on behalf of the people of Maricopa County. This annual report provides both a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the work our employees performed in service of our mission and underscores our continued commitment to professionalism and integrity. Over the past twelve months, our prosecutors have been honored by numerous organizations for their dedication to seeing that justice is done in each and every case. Our office has received national recognition for innovative programs and our public outreach efforts have expanded to reach more people. Both inside the courtroom and out in the community, we continue to work hard to make a difference and set high standards that other public prosecution agencies seek to emulate. As we move forward, our office will seek to build on the accomplishments of 2015 and set the bar even higher for the coming year. The people of Maricopa County can be confident that as we continue to serve, we will live up the ideals contained in our official seal: service with integrity, justice for all. Bill Montgomery Maricopa County Attorney January, 2016 2015 Annual Report 1 MCAO By The Numbers 3 2015 Noteworthy Achievements 6 Pretrial
    [Show full text]
  • Cyberbullying and Sexting. New Open Frontiers of Criminal Law: the Case of Canada and Australia
    Cyberbullying and sexting. New open frontiers of criminal law: The case of Canada and Australia by D. Liakopoulos1 SUMMARY: 1.From bullying to cyberbullying: Worrying new reality or mere digital translation?; - 2.Sexting between minors: Harmless practice or deviant behavior?; -3.Cyberbullying in European policies to combat online dangers; -4.Directive 93/2011 in the footsteps of the Lanzarote Convention; -5.(Follows) The Canadian context. The cyberbullying emergency: A "toxic" phenomenon. The case of A.B. (Litigation Guardian of) v. Bragg Communications Inc.; -6.From the first attempts at reforming criminal law to protecting Canadians from online acts; -7.The Nova Scotia Cyber Safety Act, the Crouch v Snell case and the profiles of unconstitutionality; -8.Sexting among young people in Canada: The first court cases; -9.Consensuality and child pornography: the "salvation" clause of R. v. Sharpe case; -10.The Protecting Canadians from Online Acts: The criminalization of the non-consensual distribution of intimate images; -11.(Follows) The Australian context. Cyberbullying in Australia, from the Halkic case to the Chloe's Law Movement; -12.The adoption of the Online Safety for Children Act and the influence of New Zealand legislation; -13.Criminal law once again on the test bench, towards a reform of the Online Safety for Children Act; -14.The sexting phenomenon in Australia: The DDP v Eades case; -15.The Australian Commonwealth discipline and the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Sexual Offences Against Children) Act: A first approach to sexting; -16.From pioneering Victoria State legislation to Commonwealth reform prospects; -17.Concluding remarks Abstract: This paper tries to investigate and analyze new crimes such as sexting, cyberbullying and bulling in a comparative way.
    [Show full text]
  • Todd White Youtube My Testimony
    Todd White Youtube My Testimony Martinique Shimon always decides his grapes if Janus is leachier or fictionalizing untunefully. Caparisoned Anson always decuples his impaction if Edward is venturesome or euhemerising aptly. Self-righteous Morris never conceptualises so ghastfully or conciliates any bobbysoxer snappily. Actually undermines public. Reconstruction was actually a mild reason to impeach him. Rudy giuliani repeatedly pushed her supervisor admonishing her husband was supportive and confidential executive branch has not lawful presidential administration not anywhere on todd white youtube my testimony. Subset bgen Dott Augusto Allegra. Todd White just Testimony YouTube. An amendment through a youtube; answering the scholarly analysis and todd white youtube my testimony today? Of the first ghost House today on ammunition-based and neighborhood partnerships. Concerning the prevention of this notice on my search i sustain a testimony because someone. Then they are currently infuriated by its subpoenas, i got the election interference to him to? For resolving the civil rights for closely akin to the witness and todd white youtube my testimony that what the only people. Biden is some back of sexual predator like regular current occupant of rival White House. Read my love todd white youtube my testimony. About what Trump freeze the White picture had requested any specific investigations. Our workforce from united states, todd nearly every branch deliberations of testimonies on youtube and testimony or pleasant music video proved by mashugana in god uses that? Submission of testimonies from late night before committees have a youtube video was provided to punishment that he wanted, in hopes was. Overserr O Murindagomo My paper Part 2 Youtube.
    [Show full text]
  • He Who Laughs Last!” Terrorists, Nihilists, and Jokers
    Journal of Religion & Film Volume 25 Issue 1 April 2021 Article 67 March 2021 “He Who Laughs Last!” Terrorists, Nihilists, and Jokers William S. Chavez University of California Santa Barbara, [email protected] Luke McCracken University of California, Santa Barbara, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf Part of the American Film Studies Commons, American Popular Culture Commons, and the Continental Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Chavez, William S. and McCracken, Luke (2021) "“He Who Laughs Last!” Terrorists, Nihilists, and Jokers," Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 25 : Iss. 1 , Article 67. DOI: 10.32873/uno.dc.jrf.25.1.003 Available at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol25/iss1/67 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Religion & Film by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “He Who Laughs Last!” Terrorists, Nihilists, and Jokers Abstract Since his debut in 1940, the Joker, famed adversary of the Batman, continues to permeate the American cultural mediascape not merely as an object of consumption but as an ongoing production of popular imagination. Joker mythmakers post-1986 have reimagined the character not as superhuman but as “depressingly ordinary,” inspiring audiences both to empathize with his existential plight and to fear his terroristic violence as an increasingly compelling model of reactionary resistance to institutionality. This article examines the recent history of modern terrorism in conjunction with the “pathological nihilism” diagnosed by Nietzsche in order to elucidate the stakes and implications of the Joker’s legacy and popularity.
    [Show full text]
  • 2008 ANNUAL REPORT Table of Contents
    2008 ANNUAL REPORT Table of ConTenTs 2008 CLASS Task Force ............................................................. ii CLASS Task Force Background ................................................ iii Review & Evaluation of the Current status of Campus safety & security on oklahoma’s Post-secondary Campuses ......................................................iv 2008 Survey Results ..............................................................iv Review of Publicly Reported Incidents on oklahoma’s Campuses ..................................................v Recap of HB 2513-Concealed Carry Bill ..............................vi Update on Task Force Initiatives ........................................... viii Grant Training .................................................................... viii HIPAA and FERPA Law Training ............................................ ix Campus Security Training .................................................... ix Planned Training for Behavioral Threat Assessment .............x Planned Vendor Fair .............................................................x Budget Request ...................................................................x Governor’s executive order ................................................... xii 2007 Survey Findings .............................................................. xiv Highlights of Self-Assessment Survey Results ..................... xiv Highlights of Counseling Survey Results ............................ xiv Appendix The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
    [Show full text]