Richard Stivers

Historical Meanings of Irish-American Drinking

Irish-Americans have for a long time had one of the highest rates of alcoholism of any ethnic group in the United States, a country that itself has had an extremely high rate of alcoholism (See Appendix). The story of Irish-American drinking begins in Ireland, but does not end there as some have thought. Robert Bales (1944, 1962), for instance, in an otherwise erudite work thought that Irish attitudes toward drinking should be similar to those of Irish-Americans. That is one reason why he doubted statistics that indicated a higher rate of alcoholism among Irish-Americans than among the Irish in Ireland (Bales, 1944, p. 34). In my earlier work (Stivers, 1976), I addressed the statistical discrepancy between the two groups and attempted to show that the cultural attitudes toward drinking were dissimilar and moreover that the structural context of these attitudes were distinct.

Part five: Irish ethnicity and alcohol use

Abstract This paper examines the changing meanings the Irish‐American pattern of heavy drinking has undergone from the nineteenth century to the present: a first stage heavy drinking was symbolic of Irish‐American identity; a second stage in which it was both a product of the American ethic of consumption and American identity, and finally, a third stage when with the rise of the “new ethnicity” both the meanings of the first and second stages are brought together.

IRISH FAMILIES IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: EXCEPTIONAL OR CONVERGING?

Irish families were characterized as being patriarchal, stem-extended, large, strong, and stable for much of the twentieth century. Studies completed during the 1930s and 1940s propagated this depiction. These characteristics made Irish families an exception to the convergence of family patterns going on worldwide. Historical scholarship and empirical data are used to assess the accuracy of this characterization, chart changing patterns, and compare changes in Irish families to families in Sweden and the United States. The stem-extended family reigned as an ideal type but Irish families emulating these characteristics were prevalent only briefly in rural western Ireland. Rapid, radical, and broad changes in Irish family patterns since the 1960s are heading toward convergence at a pace considered exceptional.

The Legend of "Nigger" Lake: Place as Scapegoat

The term scapegoating has had three principal meanings that have not always been clearly differentiated: biblical, anthropological, and psychosocial. Originally, the scapegoat was a term used to refer to the first of two goats in the Leviticus ritual, the one chosen to carry (symbolically) the sins of the Hebrews into exile. In the 19th century, anthropologists generalized from the biblical ritual and applied the term to a wide range of rituals, which later became a subcategory called scapegoat rituals or rites for the expulsion of evil. For at least 20 years, however, the anthropological use of this category has been moribund. Finally, in everyday discourse, in journalism, and in popular literature, scapegoat is a term used to refer to those unfairly blamed for problems of any kind. This general psychosocial meaning has become predominate (Girard, 1987a, pp. 73-74). Despite the fact that the psychosocial meaning of scapegoat is widespread, the term has been given short shrift in the social sciences. Two approaches characterize those who do not use scapegoat in an exclusively descriptive way. Some social scientists, often

The Role of Statistics in Management Magic

Technology and magic both represent the human will to power—to dominate nature and ultimately humans. In a technological civilization, magic imitates technology. Modern management often entails psychological techniques (the human relations approach) and organizational techniques (the scientific approach). The heart of the latter is statistical measurement and prediction of the future. This article examines the magical use of statistical measurement and prediction of the future. Magic here operates according to the principle of the self-fulfilling prophecy. Because statistical information is perceived to be related to the success of an organization and is invariably collected in abundance, it is given credit for actual success.

The Technological Personality.

If technology is the single most important factor in explaining the organization of modern societies, it is likewise the key to understanding the modern personality. The technological personality is the psychological counterpart to the technological society.Technology indirectly destroys the basis of a common morality and so leaves human relationships vague, insincere, and potentially dangerous. The technological personality possesses a façade of extroverted cheerfulness to conceal and compensate for an inner core of loneliness and fear of others. At the same time the technological personality allows one to internalize technological stimuli, thus creating a shield against certain kinds of stress, it reinforces and deepens loneliness.

Vulgar Music and Technology.

Rock music, rap, and heavy metal are all forms of vulgar music. Vulgarity refers to actions and communication that are “common, noisy, and gross,” and are “untranscendent.” A technological society is a vulgar society in its base of materialism and exclusive concern with power. Its excessive rationality produces a need for escape, for ecstasy, for the release of instinctual power. Vulgar music mimics a technological society and provides compensation for its repressive impact.

The Computer and Education: Choosing the Least Powerful Means of Instruction

The computer is a threat to the intellectual and moral education of students. It reduces words to their most abstract meaning, thereby objectifying meaning. Moreover, the computer promotes logical thought at the expense of dialectical thinking. The computer is behind the proliferation of random information, all of which is at the disposal of the individual user. This fosters a cynical worldview that information is random and exists to be exploited. Finally, the computer turns us into consumers of information that fragments the personality and makes moral responsibility increasingly difficult. It allows for anonymous discourse and substitutes information for judgment. Teachers should resist the use of the mass media—especially the computer and television—as much as possible.

Religion and Alcoholism

Alcoholism is as rare in primitive societies as drunkenness is common (Mandelbaum, 1965; Marshall, 1979). Anthropologists often account for this paradox in terms of the cultural integration of drunkenness. It would appear that drunkenness, but not alcoholism, receives moral and religious approval.

The Media Creates Us in Its Image

Propaganda in all its forms is the culture of a mass society. The media transmits propaganda to form public opinion and recreate the human being. Reversing the Western ideal of a rational and free individual, the media creates a childish conformist ensconced in the peer group, who acts unconsciously.