Why Intolerance and Extremism Happen offers a transformational way to think about intolerance, extremism, politics, and news.
This concise, clear-eyed exploration reveals that today's conflicts are not new-they are rooted in deep human tendencies that can be studied and understood. Drawing on insights from multiple disciplines, including political psychology, neuroscience, the history of journalism, U.S. constitutional history, and more, Kanefield uncovers the forces that pull people toward rigid thinking and authoritarian movements. "This is a book for any common-sense person who has looked around at the political division and outrage-fueled information environment and said, 'What the hell is going on?' or 'How did we get here?'"Teri Kanefield's books have won numerous awards and distinctions, including the Jane Addams Book Award and the Carter G. Woodson Middle-Level Book Award. Firehose of Falsehood was named by the New York Public Library as one of the best new graphic books for adults. Three of her books have been named Junior Library Guild selections. Rebels, Robbers, and Radicals: The Story of the Bill of Rights was selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard.
She has written legal commentary for The Washington Post, NBC, CNN, and other mainstream outlets. Her short stories and essays have appeared in publications as diverse as Education Week, The Iowa Review, Cricket Magazine, Scope, and the American Literary Review.
She earned her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Her private law practice was limited to representing indigents on appeal from adverse rulings. Before law school, she taught English at the college and university level. She holds an MA in English with an emphasis in fiction writing from the University of California, Davis, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.