The Bottom Line
Hazing clothes itself in the mantle of tradition and claims respectability as a result. Hank Nuwer seeks to expose hazing for what it is, namely, abuse. The Hazing Reader is a scholarly dissertation, well annotated and well written. It needs to be required reading by anybody involved in education at the high school and college level.
Pros
- Scholarly and authoritative.
Cons
- Very small type face.
Description
- Scholarly and authoritative.
- The 15 case studies make compelling reading.
- A solid contribution from a leading authority on hazing.
Guide Review - The Hazing Reader
I have been a Hank Nuwer fan for many years. As somebody who is opposed to hazing, I have long felt that the 'tradition' of hazing needs to be broken. It is an odious cycle like beating children which causes more harm than good in the long term.
Now that you know where I stand on the subject, let me commend Dr. Nuwer for writing a well documented, scholarly book on hazing. It fits in with his other books which include Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking; Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing; and High School Hazing: When Rites Become Wrongs.
I particularly like the 15 articles or case studies. They make compelling reading. As you read each article, you wonder how human beings could behave in such a sub-human fashion. The link between hazing and alcohol is clear and conclusive. Why so many authorities have looked the other way and implicitly condoned hazing is simply unbelievable.
