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  3. The Cambridge World History of Violence

The question of whether violence has increased or decreased through time continues to be much debated, and is explored in depth in this landmark history of violence through human history. Ranging from genocide, mass violence and sexual violence to torture, murder and religious sacrifice, The Cambridge World History of Violence offers a comprehensive account of the ways in which violence has been practised, conceptualised and legitimised from prehistory to the present.

  • General Editors: Phillip Dwyer, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Joy Damousi, University of Melbourne

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4 results in The Cambridge World History of Violence

The Cambridge World History of Violence
  • Volume 1, The Prehistoric and Ancient Worlds
  • Edited by Garrett G. Fagan, Linda Fibiger, Mark Hudson, Matthew Trundle
  • Published online:
    13 March 2020
    Print publication:
    26 March 2020
  • The first in a four-volume set, The Cambridge World History of Violence, volume I provides a comprehensive examination of violence in prehistory and the ancient world. Covering the period through to the end of classical antiquity, the chapters take a global perspective spanning sub-Saharan Africa, the Near East, Europe, India, China, Japan and Central America. Unlike many previous works, this book does not focus only on warfare but examines violence as a broader phenomenon. The historical approach complements, and in some cases critiques, previous research on the anthropology and psychology of violence in the human story. Written by a team of contributors who are experts in each of their respective fields, this volume will be of particular interest to anyone fascinated by archaeology and the ancient world.

The Cambridge World History of Violence
  • Volume 3, AD 1500–AD 1800
  • Edited by Robert Antony, Stuart Carroll, Caroline Dodds Pennock
  • Published online:
    13 March 2020
    Print publication:
    26 March 2020
  • In the period from 1500 to 1800 the problem of violence necessitated asking fundamental questions and formulating answers about the most basic forms of human organisation and interactions. Violence spoke to critical issues such as the problem of civility in society, the nature of political sovereignty and the power of the state, the legitimacy of conquest and subjugation, the possibilities of popular resistance, and the manifestations of ethnic and racial unrest. It also provided the raw material for profound meditations on humanity and for examining our relationship to the divine and natural worlds. The third volume of The Cambridge World History of Violence examines a world in which global empires were consolidated and expanded, and in which civilisations for the first time linked to each other by trans-oceanic contacts and a sophisticated world trade system.

The Cambridge World History of Violence
  • Volume 2, AD 500–AD 1500
  • Edited by Matthew S. Gordon, Richard W. Kaeuper, Harriet Zurndorfer
  • Published online:
    13 March 2020
    Print publication:
    26 March 2020
  • Violence permeated much of social life across the vast geographical space of the European, American, Asian and Islamic lands and through the broad sweep of what is often termed the Middle Millennium (roughly 500 to 1500). Focusing on four contexts in which violence occurred across this huge area, the contributors to this volume explore the formation of centralised polities through war and conquest; institution building and ideological expression by these same polities; control of extensive trade networks; and the emergence and dominance of religious ecumenes. Attention is also given to the idea of how theories of violence are relevant to the specific historical circumstances discussed in the volume's chapters. A final section on the depiction of violence, both visual and literary, demonstrates the ubiquity of societal efforts to confront meanings of violence during this longue durée.

The Cambridge World History of Violence
  • Volume 4, 1800 to the Present
  • Edited by Louise Edwards, Nigel Penn, Jay Winter
  • Published online:
    13 March 2020
    Print publication:
    26 March 2020
  • This book explores one of the most intractable problems of human existence - our propensity to inflict violence. It provides readers with case studies of political, social, economic, religious, structural and interpersonal violence from across the entire globe since 1800. It also examines the changing representations of violence in diverse media and the cultural significance of its commemoration. Together, the chapters provide in-depth understanding of the ways that humans have perpetrated violence, justified its use, attempted to contain its spread and narrated the stories of its impacts. Readers also gain insight into the mechanisms by which the parameters about the acceptable limits to and locations of violence have dramatically altered over the course of a few decades. Leading experts from around the world have pooled their knowledge to provide concise, authoritative examinations of the complex phenomenon of human violence. Annotated bibliographies provide overviews of the shape of the research field.