{"product_id":"the-empathy-paradox-rachel-mccabe-9781643365848","title":"The Empathy Paradox: Rhetoric, Media, and the Trouble with Identification","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow resisting empathy may lead to more thoughtful reading and better writing\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmpathy has traditionally been understood as a bridge between the self and others. In composition studies, it is often used as a foundation for effective reading, allowing students to connect with authors, characters, and ideas. Now, in the era of social media apologies and self-help advice, empathy is conceptualized regularly as a tool for individual validation that promotes personal gain over relational depth. Overidentification, Rachel McCabe argues, can lead to the erasure of differences in others' lived experiences and the omission of complicating details in texts. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Empathy Paradox\u003c\/i\u003e, McCabe analyzes the evolving role of empathy in contemporary media, film, literature, and culture. She asks what happens when readers and viewers directly consider the complex ways that empathy guides their understanding and assessment of the culture they consume. By developing an awareness of our assumptions, we can avoid the pitfalls of self-interest and overidentification and develop more constructive applications of empathy that will help us become better readers and writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Rachel McCabe\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1643365843\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781643365848\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of South Carolina Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/06\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 206\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.80d","brand":"Rachel McCabe","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":49084108570879,"sku":"9781643365848","price":80.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-empathy-paradox-rachel-mccabe-9781643365848","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}