THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF VIOLENCE

This course will explore contemporary anthropological approaches to the issue of violence with an exploration of three particular themes. Our main focus will be on the idea of representation, ethnographically and theoretically, of the concept of violence. First, we will look at how violence has been situated as an object of study within anthropology, as a theoretical concept as well as in practice. We will then look at the issue of terrorism and how anthropology as a discipline contributes to understanding this particular form of violence. Finally, we will consider gender-based violence with close attention to the colonial/post-colonial settings where Islam is a salient factor. Gender based violence is one of the main forces producing and reproducing gender inequality. We will pay particular attention to the concept of the 'Muslim woman' in both the colonial and colonized imagination.