Anthropology 316VN - Special Topics in Anthropology: 'Violence and the State'

The definition of terrorism within international law remains contested. Coined in the late 18th century, the term was initially used to refer to government by intimidation as directed and implemented by the party in power during the French Revolution. In current usage, the term is used to refer to unofficial or unauthorized use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims by non-state actors. We will examine the ways in which these contestations of definition derive from conceptions of the state as that entity which alone has monopoly over the legitimate use of violence. Our case-studies will be drawn from the Global North and the Global South.

Prereq: ANTHR-105 and 4 additional credits in Anthropology, Sociology, or Politics.