Our Superheroes, Ourselves

Robin S. Rosenberg, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and author. Dr. Rosenberg writes college-level psychology textbooks and enjoys using superheroes and their stories to illustrate psychological phenomena. She blogs for Huffington Post and Psychology Today and has been featured in various media including the Financial Times, NPR, Boston Phoenix, LiveScience, Philadelphia Inquirer, special features on superhero DVDs, and documentary films. She is editor of The Psychology of Superheroes and author of What's the Matter with Batman? An Unauthorized Clinical Look Under the Mask of the Caped Crusader.

• Part I: Our Relationship with Superheroes ; Introduction ; Robin Rosenberg ; Chapter 1. our fascination with superheroes ; Robin Rosenberg ; Chapter 2. Superhero comics as Moral Pornography ; David Pizarro and Roy Baumeister ; Chapter 3. Are Superhero Stories Good for Us?: Reflections from Clinical Practice ; Lawrence Rubin ; Chapter 4. Emotions in Comics: Why the Silver Age of comics made a difference ; Peter Jordan ; Chapter 5. The Effects of Superhero Sagas on Our Gendered Selves ; Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz and Hillary Pennell ; Part II: The Humanity of Superheroes ; Chapter 6. Our Superheroes, Our Supervillains: Are They All That Different? ; Travis Langley ; Chapter 7. Are Superheroes Just Supergifted? ; Robin Rosenberg and Ellen Winner ; Chapter 8. The Very Real Work Lives of Superheroes: Illustrations of Work Psychology ; by Gary Burns ; Chapter 9. How super are superheroes? ; Robert Sternberg ; Chapter 10. Seven Roads to Justice for Superheroes and Humans ; Mikhail Lyubansky

"Dr. Rosenberg has given readers a collection of insightful and thought-provoking writings that enhance the myths we have embraced. These essays expand our understanding of our society as well as our understanding of who we are." -- New York Journal of Books"OUR SUPERHEROES, OURSELVES is a fantastic collection of well developed studies and topics." Ideas like Bullets"This is a focused effort that advances understanding of comics from a psychological perspective. While the editors make it clear that the book will not provide any definitive answer, the wide-ranging chapters push scholars to investigate superheroes and supervillans as cultureal evidence about who we were in the past and are today. These two books are important works in a burgeoning field." -A.W. Austin, Misercordia University, CHOICE