We live in a dangerous world, but which dangers inspire fear that is well-founded, and which have been manufactured, spread through faulty logic or disingenuous creators? Which fears are we born with, and which do we learn? Most importantly of all, how do these fears overtake us and how can we think logically in the face of so much apprehension? The Fear Knot examines our most common deeply held yet misguided fears, explaining how they developed and how we can unlearn them.
In this lively and timely tour, Neuroscientist Ruth DeFoster and mass communication professor Natashia Swalve lead readers through the history and psychology behind widespread cultural fears of innocuous things, beginning with the most personal fears within our own bodies and moving outward to the home, our country, and finally to culture at its largest level. From micro fears, such as fear of vaccines and GMOs, through potential threats to our families like drugs and smart homes, and finally to the broad existential dread associated with mental illnesses and global warming, The Fear Knot examines the toll of our fears and how they manifest in our brains. Exploring how shared culture, media consumption, and political narratives help drive beliefs about risk and hazards, DeFoster and Swalve will help readers to make informed, well-researched decisions about fear and risk - and along the way, to learn how to think critically, examine sources, and become confident consumers of media and popular culture.
Combining psychology and journalism in short, light-hearted chapters, The Fear Knot gives readers a fresh look at Americans' perceptions of risk and danger, with an emphasis on how to recognize misinformation or biases, updated to include the most recent fears that Americans face in the 21st century - and the real dangers that we may be ignoring.
Author Biography:
Ruth DeFoster, PhD, is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Minnesota, where she is also the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Her research on terrorism, mass shootings, gun violence, tragedy, and identity has been published in academic books and journals, including Health Communication, Contemporary Drug Problems, Journal of Communication Inquiry, Communication, Culture & Critique, and SAGE Research Methods Cases. DeFoster's first book, Terrorizing the Masses: Identity, Mass Shootings, and the Media Construction of Terrorexamines 20 years of media coverage of terrorism and mass shootings in the United States. She has written for many publications, including MinnPost, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Minnesota Women's Press, The Winona Daily News, The La Crosse Tribune, and Critique Magazine.
Natashia Swalve, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology and psychopharmacology at Grand Valley State University in Michigan and has won several awards for teaching and faculty excellence throughout her career. She has published 28 papers on topics involving drug abuse and mental illness. Together, DeFoster and Swalve have published four academic papers and presented at three nationwide conferences on the intersection of psychology and the media, discussing perceptions of risk and audience's beliefs about the danger of drugs, terrorism, and mass shootings.