Why Don’t You Just Talk to Him?: The Politics of Domestic Abuse

280 Pages·2015·1.95 MB·English

by  Kathleen R. Arnold

Why Don’t You Just Talk to Him?

Why Don’t You
Just Talk to Him?
The Politics of Domestic Abuse
Kathleen R. Arnold
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Arnold, Kathleen R., 1966–
Why don’t you just talk to him? : the politics of domestic abuse / Kathleen R.
Arnold.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–19–026228–0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Family violence.
2. Marital violence. 3. Victims of family violence. I. Title.
HV6626.A76 2015
362.82’92—dc23
2015007972
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
To Hannah with all of my love and
in memory of Arthur Devaun Martin

CONTENTS
Introduction 1
1. The Politics of Abuse and Realism 22
2. The Context of the Problem 56
3. Domestic Abuse and the Limits of Communication
(Foucault, Habermas, and Beyond) 89
4. The Enlightenment and Violence 121
5. Conclusion 154
Acknowledgments 175
Notes 179
Selected Bibliography 245
Index 257

Why Don’t You Just Talk to Him?