Programme

Terrorism has been one of the most pressing political problems of the last half-century: almost every continent has experienced the threat of terrorism, from Europe to Asia, from Africa to America. The course deals with the principal issues associated with modern international terrorism. In particular, it focuses on the following topics:

1. What is Terrorism?; 2. Typologies of Terrorism; 3. Causes of Terrorism; 4. History of Terrorism and Case Studies (Spain, Northern Ireland, Middle East, Germany); 5. Red and Black Terrorism in Italy; 6. Roots and Causes of Italian Terrorism; 7. Al Qaeda, ISIS and the New Age of Terror; 8. “Old” and “New” Terrorism; 9. Terrorism, Counter-terrorism and the Law; 10. Italian Responses to Terrorism; 11. Writing on Terrorism: Literature and Representations of Terrorists; 12. The End of Terrorism.

This course is taught in English.

Core Documentation

- D.J. Whittaker (ed.), The Terrorism Reader, New York: Routledge, 2012;
- L. Weinberg, Global Terrorism. A Beginner’s Guide, Oxford: Oneworld, 2005;
- Reader;
- Further materials will be assigned by teacher in class.

Reference Bibliography

• Antonello P. and O’Leary A. (eds.), Imagining terrorism: The Rhetoric and Representation of Political Violence in Italy 1969-2009, London: Legenda, 2009 • Aust S., Baader-Meinhof: the Inside Story of the R.A.F., Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2009 • Burleigh M., Blood&Rage. A Cultural History of Terrorism, New York: Harper, 2009; • Crenshaw, Terrorism in Context, University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995 • Cronin A.K., How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009 • Drake R., The Aldo Moro Murder Case, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995; • Drake R., The Revolutionary Mystique and Terrorism in Contemporary Italy, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989 • Griffin R., Terrorist’s Creed. Fanatical Violence and the Human Need for Meaning, New York: Palgrave, 2012 • Hewitt Ch., Understanding Terrorism in America: from the Klan to al Qaeda, New York: Routledge, 2003 • Hoffman B., Inside Terrorism, New York: Columbia University Press, 2006 • Horgan J. and Braddock K. (eds.), Terrorism Studies: a Reader, New York: Routledge, 2011 • Horgan J., The Psychology of Terrorism, New York: Routledge, 2005 • Laqueur W., No End to War: Terrorism in the Twenty-first Century, New York: Continuum, 2003; • Laqueur W., Voices of Terror: Manifestos, Writings, and Manuals of Al Qaeda, Hamas, and Other Terrorists from Around the World and Throughout the Ages, New York: Reed Press, 2004 • Law R., Terrorism. A History, Oxford: Polity Press, 2009 • Orsini A., Anatomy of the Red Brigades: the Religious Mind-set of Modern Terrorists, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2011 • Pape R.A., Dying to Win: the Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006 • Schmid A.P. (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research, New York: Routledge, 2011

Type of delivery of the course

Lectures, seminar discussions, students’ presentations, use of multimedia resources (selected by the instructor), Moodle.

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory for “Terrorism” course classes, including field studies. If a student misses more than two classes, 2 percentage points will be deducted from the final grade for every additional unjustified absence.

Type of evaluation

Class participation (10%); Midterm exam (30%) - essay questions; Book review paper: from 10 to 15 pages about a book chosen with the instructor (20%); In class presentation (10%) - student has to made a class presentation on the book chosen for the book review paper; Final exam (30%) - essay questions.