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The seminar module offers a more extensive and more thorough analysis of a topic from within political science. To this end, the seminar module provides an overview and a critical discussion of the literature and the issues relevant for the topic of the seminar.
The objective of the course is to introduce students to 1) theories about society, which are relevant for the understanding of terrorism and the way society reacts to this phenomenon, and 2) theories about terrorism that are relevant for the understanding of what society is, and how it functions.
The course is divided into 4 overall themes.
What is terrorism and how does it relate to society?
Looking at the statistical evidence about terrorism immediately raises the question: "Why bother?" Even though lots of lives were lost in the 9/11 attacks (around 3000), that number is dwarfed by the number of deaths due to traffic accidents (around 42000 in the US in 2001) or murders (around 16000 in the US in 2001) (and in term of casualties due to terrorism 2001 certainly was an aberration). The answer will often be that it is not so much the attack the have already happened, but the future attacks that could happen, that should be of interest to us. There generally are two different ways in which researchers will react to this point. Either they will take the threat of future attacks very seriously and investigate the motives, strategies, tools, resources of terrorists. Or they will take the threat to be greatly overestimated and instead investigate how discourse on ‘terrorism', and different practices of counter-terrorism, can have much greater effects on society than any successful attack ever could. In the course we will read both types of research, but focus will be put on the latter.
The Psychology of Terror - Politics of Fear
How does society deal with fear? This is a crucial question to address when one is concerned with the question of terrorism. It is also one that has produced extensive research over the last decade. We will be dealing with different approaches ranging from philosophical discussions, over historical investigations to contemporary analysis.
Terrorism and War in Time and Space
How does terrorism determine the way we relate to time and space? One way in which terrorism is conceptualised is through the notion that terrorist attacks could happen anywhere all the time. This corresponds with the notion of 4 th generation warfare that has been the topic of debate in military affairs for some time. Interestingly enough this concept of war/terrorism means that architecture becomes an area of crucial concern, since it is the art which constructs, divides and orders our spatial environments. In the course we will study the effects on society caused by this crucial and surprising link between architecture and war.
Terrorism and Justice. The question of the state of exception.
After 9/11 it has been argued that the juridical measures taken by governments in liberal democratic regimes to combat the terrorist threat have resulted in the abolishment of the rule of law and the introduction of a permanent state of emergency. That states are introducing special laws to combat terrorism is nothing new, however, nor is it the first time that important legal measures have been introduced via emergency procedures. We will deal with the question of how terrorism affects the legal order of society, by reading texts that offer both historical oversight and contemporary analysis.
BA degree in Political Science, Sociology, or Philosophy
Rasmus Ugilt Holten Jensen
The assessment method is oral exam based on an essay.
External examiner/Graded marking.
The seminar module requires active participation of students. At the beginning of the seminar module the lecturer and the students agree on specific "activity requirements" that the students have to fulfill.
A seminar is a method of teaching that can include a combination of group work, student contributions, written exercises, group discussions and minor projects.
The module compendium consists of about 1,200 pages.
Agamben, G., State of Exception , Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2005.
Bigo, D. & Tsoukala, A. (eds), Terror, Insecurity and Liberty. Illiberal practices of liberal regimes after 9/11 , London and New York: Routledge, 2008.
Gross, O. and Aoláin, N., Law in Times of Crisis. Emergency Powers in Theory and Practice , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006
Gurr, N. & Cole, B., The new face of terrorism: threats from weapons of mass destruction , London: I.B. Tauris, 2000.
Hoffman, B., Inside Terrorism , New York: Columbia University Press, 2 nd ed., 2006.
}i~ek, Slavoj, Welcome to the Desert of the Real , London: Verso, 2002.
