Violent Impacts

Image description: book cover depicting a human brain painted in gold, blue, and fuchsia with an explosive splash around it, including the text, Violent Impacts: How Power and Inequality Shape the Concussion Crisis.

Concerns regarding brain injury in sport have escalated into what is often termed a “concussion crisis,” fueled by high-profile lawsuits and deaths.

Although athletes are central figures in this narrative, they comprise only a small proportion of the people who experience brain injuries. Other high-risk groups, including victims of domestic violence and police brutality, are all too often left out of the story.

In Violent Impacts, Kathryn Henne and Matt Ventresca examine what is and isn’t captured in popular discourse, scrutinizing how law, science, and social inequalities shape depictions and understandings of brain injury.

Drawing on research carried out in Australia, Canada, and the United States, they illustrate how structural violence centers certain bodies as part of the concussion crisis while pushing others to the margins.

Full details are available on the University of California Press website.