Jonathan Taylor and James Scudamore On Bullying

Jonathan Taylor and James Scudamore will talk and read from their own non-fiction and fiction on this subject, then interview each other

Jonathan Taylor on bullying, discipline, and power in school and beyond…

What does it mean to be a bully? What does it feel like to be bullied–to be a victim, a pariah, a scapegoat? What are the techniques, patterns, and languages of bullying?

In his book, A Physical Education, Jonathan attempts to answer these questions. He explores how bullying and discipline function, how they differ from each other, and how they all too often overlap. He interweaves his own experiences with reflections on well-known literary representations of bullying and school discipline, alongside sociological, psychological, and philosophical theories of power. He discusses the transition from corporal punishment to psychological forms of discipline that took place in the UK in the 1980s, and he also investigates the divergences and convergences of physical, psychological, and linguistic bullying.

Sometimes, beneath the tyranny, there is trickery, laughter. And sometimes there are chinks in The Wall, through which other possible worlds might be glimpsed.

By contrast, James Scudamore takes a fictional approach to the same problem in English Monsters. When ten-year-old Max is sent to boarding school, his idyllic childhood comes to an abrupt end. Away from the freedom of his grandfather’s farm, a world of rules and punishment awaits. But so too does the companionship of a close-knit group of classmates. Years later, as Max and his friends face down adulthood, a dark secret from their schooldays is revealed, drawing them together in unforeseen ways. Who knew what, and when? And who now wants to see justice done?

Here’s what the Guardian says: www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/14/english-monsters-james-scudamore-review

This event will cover bullying at school, in the home, in the workplace and in society.

Refreshments included