FAMST 192CT Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Moral Panic, Juvenile Delinquency, Fredric Wertham
Document Summary
Lecture 4: moral panics and mass culture debates. Thursday, april 9, 2020: besides the early and mid-century problematization of juvenile delinquency, 2 other contexts to consider: Moral panics aka "decency crusades: fighting over decency, origin of the term: sociologist stanley cohen, folk devils and moral panics (1973) Defining moral panics: "societies appear to be subject, every now and then, to periods of moral panic. [beginning of the book: though it"s not cohen"s focus, popular media have themselves been the objects of moral panic. Wasp) alarmed reactions to the alleged indecency of mass media and popular culture. Episodic cycle of moral panics, especially in america: late 19th century: anthony comstock"s decency crusade against dime novels (pulp fictio cheap books, mass distributed, targeting youth) ome erges, oral episode iction, Comstock was an agent of the "ny society for the suppression of vice" Rooted in a religious concern that dime novels were pornographic and inducing of moral corruption.
