Flag Burning: Moral Panic and the Criminalization of Protest
Responses to flag burning as a particular form of street protest tend to polarize into two camps: one holding the view that action of this sort is constitutionally protected protest; the other, that it is subversive and criminal activity. In this well-researched and richly documented volume, Welch examines the collision of these ideologies, and shows the relevance of sociological concepts to a deeper understanding of such forms of protest.\ In exploring social control of political protest in...
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\ From the Publisher“This book provides an account of the history of flag desecration and the efforts to criminalize it… Michael Welch’s book delivers a contribution to the sociological study of a fascinating and important social issue. Any sociologist interested in flag desecration issues has to start with Welch’s work, this book, and the author’s many related articles. The empirical sections of the study, especially the identification of the various themes and players in the confrontational battle between the First Amendment rights and the protection of fundamentally held beliefs and values, make for an interesting read.” —Mathieu Deflem, American Journal of Sociology “Michael Welch’s book examines the flag burning controversy, a profoundly sociological issue that has received insufficient attention from sociologists… While most of its empirical illustrations focus on responses to putative threat of flag burning in the late 1980s, the book also provides a historical survey of flag burning and flag protection efforts in the United States dating back to the Civil War.” —Rachel L. Winwohner, Contemporary Sociology\ \ \ \ \ BooknewsExamines conflicting ideologies surrounding flag burning as a form of street protest, and demonstrates the relevance of sociological concepts to a deeper understanding of such forms of protest. Material is in sections on the emergence of flag desecration and civil religion, the authoritarian aesthetic and its resistance, and moral panic over flag desecration. Can be used as a supplement in courses in deviance, social problems and movements, mass communication, criminology, and political science. Welch is Associate Professor in the Administration of Justice Program at Rutgers University. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
