Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies. The number of participants is limited to 25.
Description
Terrorism, being most often discussed from political or juridical viewpoints, can also be approached as a philosophical topic. This class will address several alternative perspectives on terrorism. We will discuss the following clustered issues: 1) the psychological basis for terror in the unconscious, 2) terrorism and State oppression, 3) terrorism and group formation, 4) the ethics of killing, and 5) the war on terror.
Authors whose texts will be studied are Georges Sorel, J.-P. Sartre, Habermas, Derrida and Freud.
Additionally, the students will work through W.C. Booth, G.G. Colomb, J.W. Williams, The Craft of Research, third edition, Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Course objectives
The elective courses for International Studies are designed to teach students how to deal with state-of-the-art literature and research questions. They are chosen to enhance the students’ learning experience by building on the interdisciplinary perspectives they have developed so far, and to introduce them to the art of academic research. They are characterised by an international or comparative approach.
Academic skills that are trained include:
Oral presentation skills:
1. to explain clear and substantiated research results;
2. to provide an answer to questions concerning (a subject) in the field covered by the course
a. in the form of a clear and well-structured oral presentation;
b. in agreement with the appropriate disciplinary criteria;
c. using up-to-date presentation techniques;
d. aimed at a specific audience;
3. to actively participate in a discussion following the presentation.
Collaboration skills:
1. to be socio-communicative in collaborative situations;
2. to provide and receive constructive criticism, and incorporate justified criticism by revising one’s own position;
3. adhere to agreed schedules and priorities.
Basic research skills, including heuristic skills:
1. to collect and select academic literature using traditional and digital methods and techniques;
2. to analyze and assess this literature with regard to quality and reliability;
3. to formulate on this basis a sound research question;
4. to design under supervision a research plan of limited scope, and implement it using the methods and techniques that are appropriate within the discipline involved;
5. to formulate a substantiated conclusion.
Written presentation skills:
1. to explain clear and substantiated research results;
2. to provide an answer to questions concerning (a subject) in the field covered by the course
a. in the form of a clear and well-structured written presentation;
b. in agreement with the appropriate disciplinary criteria;
c. using relevant illustration or multimedia techniques;
d. aimed at a specific audience.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the BA International Studies website.
Mode of instruction
Lecture, seminar style discussion and supervised research.
Course Load
A brief calculation of the course load, broken down by:
Total course load for the course: 280 hours.
Hours spent on attending lectures and seminars: 28 hours.
Time for studying the compulsory literature: 75 hours.
Time for completing assignments, whether in preparation at the college: 52 hours.
Time to write a paper (including reading / research): 125 hours.
Assessment method
Weekly assignments, and a final paper of approx. 4-6,000 words (excluding tables and bibliography).
Note: The maximum possible grade to be obtained for re-submission of the final essay is a 6.0
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used. For tutorial groups: please enroll in blackboard after your enrollment in uSis
Students are requested to register on Blackboard for this course.
Reading list
J.-P. Sartre, Critique of Dialectical Reason, Vol. 1, Verso 2004 (rev. ed.), or the French original Critique de la raison dialectique, Gallimard 1985 (1960)
Richard Norman, Ethics, Killing & War, CUP, 1995
Philosophy in a Time of Terror. Dialogues with Jürgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida by Giovanna Borradori, University Of Chicago Press 2004.
Booth, W.C., G.G. Colomb, J.W. Williams, The Craft of Research, third edition, Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Academic articles, to be made available on blackboard.
Other texts will be made available on blackboard.
Recommended reading:
Joseph S. Catalano, A Commentary on Jean-Paul Sartre’s Critique of Dialectical Reason, Volume 1, Theory of Practical Ensembles, University of Chicago Press 2013.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.
Contact
Dr. H.W. Sneller, email h.w.sneller@hum.leidenuniv.nl