From terror attacks to paedophilia, our era is in thrall to fear. Throughout history, the fears of a society have defined the people who live in it. In this course, Professor Frank Furedi confronts the causes of our anxieties and uncovers what they say about the way we live now. Can we combat the culture of fear?
By the end of the course, you will have learned:
- why the globalised world has become paralysed by fear
- what the cultural script we use to explain our fears says about our society
- how cultures managed to deal with atrocities such as Hiroshima, and why ours would fail
- why fear arises and how it can be combatted
- the reasons behind our fascination with the apocalypse.
As part of the course there are in-video quiz questions to consolidate your learning, discussion boards to have your say and suggested further readings set by Professor Furedi to stimulate a deeper exploration of the topic.