SOC 327(F) Violence, Militancy, and Collective Recovery*
Is anyone capable of an act of violence? Does social experience condition
people to be militant? How is violence collectively experienced, remembered, or
forgotten? This course will consider violence as concept and event, from various
vantage points and with geographical-historical references that include Asia,
Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Topics to be considered include the idea of
organized violence and the role of states; violence, collective memory, and public apologies; militias and cultural identity; mass media and violence; suffering
and gender. Readings draw from approaches to the study of violence that are
theoretical, analytical, comparative, ethnographic, and fictional.
Participants will view visual representations of violence and examine the ways
in which violence is used to construct collective pasts.
Format: seminar. Requirements: full participation, class presentation, and a term
paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit 19 (expected 15). Open to non-majors.