Humanitarianism and Modern Culture / / Keith Tester.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Penn State University Press Complete eBook-Package Pre-2014
• VerfasserIn: Tester, Keith,
• Place / Publishing House: University Park, PA : : Penn State University Press, , [2021]; ©2010
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: Essays on Human Rights ; 2
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (144 p.)
• Other title: Frontmatter --; Contents --; Preface and Acknowledgments --; 1. Out of "Africa" --; 2. Saving Birhan --; 3. Madonna and Child --; Conclusion --; References --; Index
• Format: Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
• ISBN: 9780271050454; 9783110745269
• DOI: 10.1515/9780271050454?locatt=mode:legacy
• Access: restricted access
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Keith Tester.

It seems paradoxical that in the West the predominant mode of expressing concern about suffering in the Third World comes through participation in various forms of popular culture-such as buying tickets to a rock concert like Live Aid in 1985-rather than through political action based on expert knowledge. Keith Tester's aim in this book is to explore the phenomenon of what he calls "commonsense humanitarianism," the reasons for its hegemony as the principal way for people in the West to relate to distant suffering, and its ramifications for our moral and social lives. As a remnant of the West's past imperial legacy, this phenomenon is most clearly manifested in humanitarian activities directed at Africa, and that continent is the geographical focus of this critical sociology of humanitarianism, which places the role of the media at the center of its analysis.