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Dangerous Encounters: Meanings of Violence in a Brazilian City

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Most studies of violence look to the psychology or biochemistry of the individual perpetrators; not so with Daniel Touro Linger's study. It is an ethnograpy of human violence in the Brazilian city of Sao Luis as a product of Brazilian culture and society. Linger saw that the presentation of violence was socially and culturally constructed.

It is true that there is analysis drawing upon familiar "psycho-babble", as alleged by the previous reviewer. However, Linger's analysis is much deeper, drawing upon a number of theoretical perspectives. While the profoundly unjust social structure of Sao Luis urban life produces interactions between people that bring them into conflict often fueled by the uncontrollable need to vent emotions, there are socially-constructed rules associated with "brigas" - ritualized violent exchanges. And because there are socially-constructed rules to do harm, it is possible to negotiate and resolve such conflicts.

What is the meaning of urban violence? Linger touches on some answers to that question and he does so in a very grounded way, relying not on the musing of "psycho-babble", but rather on the data of his ethnographic fieldwork. It is apparent that Linger wants to turn his ethnographic lens on urban violence across the board, not just in Sao Luis. In doing so, his ethnography is a mirror for humanity.

Aside from Oscar Lewis, I have a hard time finding a social anthropologist I like. This one I don't care for. This author is heavily influenced by Freud, and we get lots of psychobabble. You'll like this book if you like lines like this: "On that Friday he engaged in an orgy of schismogenesis. He had been drinking since early morning. The alcoholic's drinking, argues Bateson, is often a symetrically schismogenic act...."