Serotonin and Violence
Dean Hamer, Director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the National Cancer Institute, continues his comments about serotonin. Dr. Hamer explains that in addition to making people feel depressed, serotonin seems to also trigger hostility i...
Tattered Remains: Emergence of the Ku Klux Klan
During the Grant administration interest in Reconstruction fades as the North becomes preoccupied with its own problems. Before Grant leaves office in 1876 Democrats redeem seven of he eleven former Confederate states. It is a setting in which terro...
Violent Behavior and Gender
Dean Hamer, Director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the National Cancer Institute, talks about the disparity in the number of violent acts committed by men as compared to women. While he recognizes that there may well be social phenome...
Manifest Destiny?: Mine Workers Face Discrimination and Exploitation
Laborers are urgently needed to support this new mining enterprise in California. Young men from as far away as China look upon this as a golden opportunity and begin to emigrate in large numbers. But when they arrive they face violence at the hands...
Slavery Experience, The
Historian and author Ira Berlin talks about the realities of day to day life for slaves. Professor Berlin explains that the slave's experience varied depending on whether he or she lived in a city or in the country, on a small farm or a large planta...
Causes of Violence
Dr. Astrid Heger, Director of the Violence Intervention Program at L.A. County-USC Medical Center, talks about what she calls, "...the variety of forces (that) create the fertile ground..." on which individuals act out violently against others. Amon...
Age of the City, The: Strains of Urban Life
Increasing congestion places a strain on the capacity of cities to protect those who live within their boundaries. When plagues hit, like the cholera epidemic that invades cities in the 19th century, city officials are forced to implement public hea...
Domestic Violence: A Global Perspective
Dr. Astrid Heger, Director of the Violence Intervention Program at L.A. County-USC Medical Center, talks about efforts underway globally to stem the tide of domestic violence, particularly when children are the targets.
Family Violence
Dr. Astrid Heger, Director of the Violence Intervention Program at L.A. County-USC Medical Center, talks about abused women who come into her practice. Dr. Heger explains that many of them come not so much to protect themselves, but to protect their...
Elder Abuse
Dr. Astrid Heger, Director of the Violence Intervention Program at L.A. County-USC Medical Center, talks about a project aimed at dealing with elder abuse and abuse of the dependent adult, including disabled or mentally retarded individuals.