Terrorism: Shifting Paradigms

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Through case studies and theoretical analyses, this subject examines social processes involved in the rise, decline and transformation of different forms of terrorism, with particular reference to the student movement (Red Brigade, Weathermen); national movements (ETA, PLO); communitarian terrorism (Hezbollah, Hamas); populist terrorism (American Militias); narcoterrorism (Sendero Luminoso); sects and terrorism (Aum Shinrikyo); the shift from 'international' to global terrorism (deterritorialised/diasporic networks - Al Qaeda). The subject explores theoretical approaches to changing paradigms of terrorism; the privatisation and deterritorialisation of violence; secrecy, the sacred and the social; forms of subjectivity evident in emerging martyrdom terrorism; violence as communication; the relationship between terrorism and religious and fundamentalist movements; the role of criminal networks and the media; the relationship between terrorism, modernity and globalisation. The subject examines what, if anything, the different terrorist projects explored have in common. On completion students should have an understanding of key dimensions of contemporary terrorism, in particular as both a product of and generator of contemporary globalisation.

• demonstrate critical thinking and analytic skills, through research and written communication;

• be able to communicate knowledge intelligibly and economically, both orally and in writing;

• display awareness and understanding of the social, ethical and cultural contexts of research and of our place as researchers.