Denial - by Jared del Rosso (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In this new book, Jared Del Rosso argues that to understand contemporary social problems we need to become aware of the strategies that people use to deny the existence of those very problems. Drawing on research in sociology, criminology, psychology, and communication studies, Del Rosso develops a new vocabulary for describing denial and its consequences. With examples from everyday observations, current events, and social scientific research, Del Rosso also reveals just how widespread and varied the uses of denial are. Some uses of denial can help people repair their interactions and relationships with others. But most uses of it allows problems to fester, unrecognized. We need, Del Rosso concludes, forms of acknowledgement to surface long-denied problems. But more than that, we need collective forms of action to remedy the harms that those problems and our denial of them have done"--

Book Synopsis

From climate change to fake news, an entertaining and enlightening look at the widespread phenomenon of denial in our society

Donald Trump won the election; climate change isn't real; America is a color-blind country. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, why do so many of us refuse to admit the truth? In fact, as Jared Del Rosso argues in this thought-provoking book, denial is so much a part of our lives that we deny its existence all the time, even when this works against our best interest, even when we are being choked by its very fumes.

Denial is one of those rare books that will change the way you think. In a highly readable style that draws on examples from current events, politics, and pop culture, Del Rosso teases out the complexities of denial, from "not noticing" that someone has food stuck in their teeth, to companies that engage in widespread fraud, like Enron and Wells Fargo, to the much larger-scale denials of climate change or systemic racism. Drawing on classic studies in the social sciences and his own research of the denial of torture, Del Rosso builds a fascinating typology of the forms and meanings of denial, exploring the behavior of those who refuse to acknowledge their actions, and what it means to live in a society where such lying, fraud, and corruption is commonplace.

In wide-ranging examples, Del Rosso explores the causes, strategies, and consequences of denial. When scandal hits and accusations of misconduct are made, he argues that individuals like Harvey Weinstein or Brett Kavanaugh, or organizations like the Catholic Church or Penn State, go through a series of moves to try to avoid accountability. Del Rosso focuses on the individuals involved but also asks: how could so many people not know what their priests, or their coaches, or their coworkers were doing? Del Rosso effectively argues that recognizing what denial looks like is the crucial first step in mitigating its effects on us and society as a whole.

At a time when powerful people and institutions are increasingly being held accountable for their actions, Denial provides an undeniable reality check.

Review Quotes

"Del Rosso delivers the sort of jolt we got from Erving Goffman's early work: the taken-for-granted is exposed in new, surprising ways, and we are invited to reimagine social life"-- "Contemporary Sociology"

"Engaging and thought-provoking, [Denial] is littered with relatable examples and clever insights that push one to take stock of the "denial work" that we routinely do in our daily interactions as well as in our engagement with--or avoidance of--contentious social issues.""-- "Symbolic Interaction"

"In this book, sociologist Del Rosso (Univ. of Denver) significantly advances the sociological understanding of denial--a concept so capacious that it seems to defy definition...This volume will interest scholars in the fields of criminology, communication, management studies, and organizational sociology."--A. J. Trevino, Wheaton College "CHOICE"

"Going beyond the interpersonal work of escaping blame and managing embarrassment or scandal, this book cleverly reveals the strategies individuals, organizations, and governments use to ignore injustice. From emails offering excuses for missed class meetings to bureaucratic processes and workplace trainings that normalize deeply entrenched racism and sexism to social rituals that mask state violence, Jared Del Rosso has offered a significant and stunningly original contribution to our understanding of denial. This book, which powerfully shows how denial makes inequality tolerable, will surely become a classic."-- "Jennifer Reich, author of Calling the Shots: Why Parents Reject Vaccines"

"How do we deal with inconvenient facts such as global warming, organizational corruption, or racism, trying to 'maintain a sense of normalcy even when we encounter information to the contrary'? According to Jared Del Rosso, we deliberately disregard or explain them away, thereby implying that ignoring ('not noticing') is in fact an active mental process involving various attention-management strategies. Drawing on a rich transcontextual set of data, Denial offers us the necessary intellectual tools for understanding both our personal and institutional responses to political, financial, as well as sexual, scandals, reminding us that, although never actually protecting us from problems, denial ("that most stubborn of adhesives") may very well be our most common way of responding to them."-- "Eviatar Zerubavel, author of Taken for Granted: The Remarkable Power of the Unremarkable"

"This is one of those wonderful books that reveal the joys of sociology. It explores the many ways people manage to avoid noticing aspects of the world around them. Denial spans the full spectrum of not-noticing, from politely overlooking one another's minor errors, to trying to ignore major scandals and crises. It is readable and guaranteed to change how readers see their world."-- "Joel Best, author of Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists"

About the Author

Jared Del Rosso is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Denver. He is the author of Talking About Torture: How Political Discourse Shapes the Debate.