Youth in Revolt Reclaiming a Democratic Future [Paperback]

Recently, American youth have demonstrated en masse about a variety of issues ranging from economic injustice and massive inequality to drastic cuts in education and public services. Youth in Revolt chronicles the escalating backlash against dissent and peaceful protest while exposing a lack of governmental concern for society's most vulnerable populations. Henry Giroux carefully documents a wide range of phenomena, from pervasive violent imagery in our popular culture to educational racism, censorship, and the growing economic inequality we face. He challenges the reader to consider the hope for democratic renewal embodied by Occupy Wall Street and other emerging movements. Encouraging a capacity for critical thought, compassion, and informed judgment, Giroux's analysis allows us to rethink the very nature of what democracy means and what it might look like in the United States and beyond.Introduction: Criminalizing Dissent and Punishing the Occupy Movement Protestors 1 Countermemory and the Politics of Loss after 9/11: Violence, the War on Youth, and the Limits of the Social 2 Disturbing the Pleasures: The Depravity of Aesthetics and the Kill Team Photos 3 Norway is Closer Than You Think: Extremism and the Crisis of American Politics 4 Disposable Knowledge and Disposable Bodies: Book Burning in Arizona 5 Trickle Down Cruelty and the Politics of Austerity 6 Got Class Warfare? Occupy Wall Street's Challenge to Casino Capitalism 7 Against American-Style Authoritarianism: The Occupy Movement and the Promise of YouthHenry Girouxs Youth in Revolt is not only a brilliant analysis of the victimization and suffering of youth in contemporary American society but also a hopeful manifesto for how this could be changed. Youth today understand that their demand for a democratic society requires a struggle for economic justice, social responsibility, and giving priority to the social good. They as well as their elders would benefit greatly from reading this book.