Social Geometry and the 'Terrorism' Label

Authors

  • Daniel J. Boches University of Georgia

Keywords:

deviance, news labeling, social control, social geometry, terrorism

Abstract

The news labeling of violence varies.  The same act of violence may be labeled “terrorism”, a “shooting”, or a “rampage”.  Despite theory and research on the relationship between the media and terrorism, it is still unclear when news outlets will label violence “terrorism” and how frequently the label will be used.  Focusing primarily on “terrorism” labeling, I use the strategy of “social geometry” to develop seven propositions that partially explain and predict the moral news labeling of violence.  These principles increase our understanding of “terrorism” labeling, but also illuminate the broader issue of how deviance is defined.

Author Biography

Daniel J. Boches, University of Georgia

Daniel J. Boches is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Georgia.  He received his M.A. from the University of New Hampshire in 2016 and his B.A. from Temple University in 2014.  His primary research interests include family conflict and law.doutorando do Departamento de Sociologia da Universidade da Geórgia (UGA, Athens, EUA). É mestre em sociologia pela Universidade de New Hampshire (UNH, Durham, EUA) e bacharel em economia pela Universidade de Temple (Filadélfia, EUA).

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Published

2020-01-29

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2020): JAN/FEV/MAR/ABR

Section

Articles

License

Upon submitting a text, the authors retain copyright and grant DILEMAS - Revista de Estudos de Conflito e Controle Social the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons License type attribution BY (CC-BY), which permits sharing of the work with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal.