School Gun Violence in YA Literature
Representing Environments, Motives, and Impacts
Abstract
Since Columbine, the topic of school shootings has become ever more prevalent in the media, in research, and in fiction. This book provides analyses of several Young Adult (YA) texts about school shootings and uncovers how the authors represent such violence (and those who perpetrate it) while developing stories that effectively speak to their adolescent readers. Employing Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, Laura A. Brown examines how the texts frame particular settings and events as important to the development of young people as a way of accounting for the shootings. Likewise, psychologist Peter Langman’s classification of the three populations of school shooters is utilized as a framework to analyze the characterization of fictional shooters in the texts. The author argues that these texts, while not easy to read, are important, as they problematize the ways we think about, approach, and react to school shootings and the students who commit such acts.
Schlagworte
school shootings fiction YA gun violence YA school shooters young adult literature- i–viii Preface i–viii
- 1–4 Introduction 1–4
- 85–112 Who Is the Shooter? 85–112
- 113–126 The Aftermath 113–126
- 127–128 Conclusion 127–128
- 129–132 Bibliography 129–132
- 133–136 Index 133–136
- 137–138 About the Author 137–138