Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2002. Vol. 8. Eger Journal of American Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 28)

Studies - András Tarnóc: Violence as Cultural Projection: The Sociological, Psychological, and Epistemological Implications of the Jamestown Massacre

description of this treatment in the hands of the Indians it is noteworthy that he was always feasted before attempts at his life were made. Having been transferred from Opechancanaugh's custody he is taken to Orapak, where he is fed, than he is almost killed by an Indian planning to revenge his son. Furthermore, he is also invited to the house of Opitchipan and fed "many platters of bread, fowl, and wild beasts" (19). This episode is soon to be followed by Powhatan's, execution order. Therefore it can be concluded that the method employed during the Jamestown Massacre, while at first appears to be treacherous, in fact is rooted in the Powhatan tradition of feasting the victim, or having a meal with him before execution. Thus the Jamestown Massacre seen from the victim's point of view as a treacherous attack, can be considered from the angle of Native Americans a form of cultural projection. Ill Whereas the research objective outlined at the beginning of this paper included the performance of a multifaceted examination of a historical event, due to a lack of reliable historical reporting and sources, the researcher has waded onto the territory of myths and has been confronted with several questions. The approach utilized during the writing of this paper treated the Jamestown Massacre both as a collective action and as a brainchild of an individual. The first difficulty encountered is the categorization of the respective events as in the mechanism and inner dynamic of the attack elements of riots, social movements and terrorist violence are discernible. The crux of the researcher's argument is that the Jamestown Massacre is a violent collective action, thus sociological and psychological theories relevant to riots and terrorist acts are applicable in this case. As it was mentioned at the beginning of the paper the primary purpose was not the actual examination of the events, but revealing the underlying sociological, psychological, and epistemological processes. Consequently the paper employed a dual level model. On the collective action level the sociological explanations, Lorenz's aggression theory and Chalmers-Crenshaw's organizational approach to terrorism are located, while the rational actor, the psychological and physiological explanations of terrorism along with Merleau- Ponty 258