El. knyga: Mass Hysteria in Schools: A Worldwide History Since 1566

"This book comprehensively surveys the colorful history of mass hysteria and kindred phenomena in schools--from outbreaks of demonic possession during witchcraft scares to twitching and shaking epidemics in 19th century European schools, to more contemporary incidents of collapsing bands, itching frenzies, ghost panics and mystery illnesses"--

Mass episodes of hysteria have occasionally appeared in classrooms worldwide for as long as there have been schools. This work tries to look at the phenomenon as a whole, and perhaps derive some common way of explaining them. The first three chapters describe incidents that took place in European and American schools, from witch scares in Europe during the sixteenth century to recent scares in the United States that reflected a fear of terrorism. A common explanatory thread seems to be student attempts to indirectly release stress, whether arising from current social concerns or the daily application of repetitive tasks in the early 20th century that were designed to develop "mental discipline" in students. The work goes on to describe hysteric episodes that took place in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Fiji. The hysteria can arise in frightening phenomena, such as seizures, trance states, twitching, convulsions, blackouts, nausea, stomach pain, phantom pregnancy, and even crawling around on the school roof like a cat. Coming from a sociological perspective, the authors use concepts such as social delusion to describe some of the outbreaks, and usually arrive at some reason why they took place. The outbreak in Thailand of a woman dressed in red asking elementary school students who have gone into trances to follow her, for instance, is seen as arising from an authoritarian culture, coupled with an outbreak of daily violence in the students' environment. Annotation ©2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

This book comprehensively surveys the colorful history of mass hysteria and kindred phenomena in schools, documenting outbreaks of demonic possession during witchcraft scares, to modern incidents of collapsing bands, itching frenzies, ghost panics and mystery illnesses.

Strange behaviors and illnesses in students are examined through the centuries. Possessed children went into trance states and began to bark like dogs in 16th and 17th century Holland; an epidemic of twitching, trembling and blackout spells swept through European schools during the latter 1800s; an outbreak of Tourette's-like symptoms struck schoolgirls in western New York in 2011-12. In addition to the US and Europe, separate chapters detail accounts from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania. A variety of theories to explain outbreaks are examined.

This book comprehensively surveys the colorful history of mass hysteria and kindred phenomena in schools, documenting outbreaks of demonic possession during witchcraft scares, to modern incidents of collapsing bands, itching frenzies, ghost panics and mystery illnesses. Strange behaviors and illnesses in students are examined through the centuries. Possessed children went into trance states and began to bark like dogs in 16th and 17th century Holland; an epidemic of twitching, trembling and blackout spells swept through European schools during the latter 1800s; an outbreak of Tourette's-like symptoms struck schoolgirls in western New York in 2011-12. In addition to the US and Europe, separate chapters detail accounts from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania. A variety of theories to explain outbreaks are examined.