Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
Public shaming has long been used in societies to maintain order in communities, and to enforce not only laws, but unspoken rules or societal constraints. However, while public shaming can be a valuable tool for communities, it can also lead to unjust rule – some might even call it mob rule. While many citizens of the United States tend to glorify democracy and the effects of democracy, the democratization of the justice system through public shaming has resulted in disastrous consequences in American history and promises dangerous repercussions if it continues to be used in the future. This claim is evidenced by an analysis of literary works from the seventeenth century and later which reveal a trend of bullying through public shaming. After a long absence from society, these unsettling trends seem to be reappearing in the twenty-first century.
Copyright and Licensing of My Content
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Origin of Submission
as part of a class
Faculty Involvement
Dr. Mary Eyring
Location
3082 JFSB
Start Date
17-3-2016 9:45 AM
End Date
17-3-2016 10:45 AM
Included in
Public Shaming and Power Shifts in Salem
3082 JFSB
Public shaming has long been used in societies to maintain order in communities, and to enforce not only laws, but unspoken rules or societal constraints. However, while public shaming can be a valuable tool for communities, it can also lead to unjust rule – some might even call it mob rule. While many citizens of the United States tend to glorify democracy and the effects of democracy, the democratization of the justice system through public shaming has resulted in disastrous consequences in American history and promises dangerous repercussions if it continues to be used in the future. This claim is evidenced by an analysis of literary works from the seventeenth century and later which reveal a trend of bullying through public shaming. After a long absence from society, these unsettling trends seem to be reappearing in the twenty-first century.