POLS1824W

Course Description


This course explores the main debates on the causes and consequences of political violence. We will focus on three major topics: civil wars, state-sponsored violence, and terrorism. Since the end of World War II, domestic conflict has largely outpaced international wars as the dominant type of violence. But what makes civil wars so prevalent in recent years? What are the conditions under which a state decides to attack its own citizens? Why some groups resort to terrorism while others prefer nonviolent tactics?

The class has three goals. First, students will become familiar with the literature on political violence, its most important debates and recent findings. Second, students should be able to evaluate research methods and critically assess distinct theoretical approaches. Lastly, the course will develop the students' writing skills by asking them to review academic articles and write a paper of their own by the end of the semester.

Course Information


We will meet every Tuesday from 16:00 to 18:30 at 101 Thayer Street (VGQ 1st fl) 116B. It is very important that you read the assigned readings before class. Students are encouraged to engage in critical discussions and are most welcome to express their views openly and freely. I would suggest you to bring some notes to the class so that we can discuss together the topics you find most interesting. Some of the texts make use of statistical models and game theory, but don't be intimidated by them. Feel free to skip the technical parts if they're too challenging and focus on the main ideas of the readings.

All information about the course will be available at http://danilofreire.github.io/pols1824w. The syllabus will be updated periodically according to the progress of the class. Please remember to visit the website regularly.

I am very flexible when it comes to office hours, but it is easier to contact me via email. Feel free to send me a message any time at danilofreire@brown.edu. You can also meet me in the afternoon at my office. I am in the Political Theory Project every weekday. My address is 8 Fones Alley, first floor, office 114. If possible, please send me an email before coming to my office just to make sure two students will not book the same time slot.

Community Standards


Brown University is committed to full inclusion of all students. Please inform me early in the term if you have a disability or other conditions that might require accommodations or modification of any of these course procedures. You may speak with me after class or during office hours. For more information, please contact Student and Employee Accessibility Services at 401-863-9588 or SEAS@brown.edu. Students in need of short-term academic advice or support can contact one of the deans in the Dean of the College office.

English Language Learners


Brown University welcomes students from around the country and the world, and the unique perspectives international and multilingual students bring enrich the campus community. To empower multilingual learners, an array of support is available including language and culture workshops and individual appointments. For more information about English Language Learning support at Brown, contact the ELL Specialists at ellwriting@brown.edu. No student will be penalised for their command of the English language.

Academic Integrity


Students will write three review reports and a longer essay for this course. All writing should be your own work, and I take plagiarism very seriously. I am happy to provide any help you may require with your lessons as long as you are committed to the course. It is also important to cite other people's work whenever necessary, and if in doubt, mention your sources.

Requirements and Grading


The means of evaluation includes three components:

  • Participation: 15%. Students should be active participants in the course. Feel free to ask any question you may have, help others if you know how, and make suggestions or comments you believe are interesting. I hope we create a friendly, open environment for learning and students are the most important part of it.

  • Three Review Reports: 45%. The reviews should be about 5 pages long. Imagine you are a reviewer for a good academic journal and think of how you could help the author improve the article. Are the arguments well developed in the text? Is the research design plausible? What further examples could the author include to strengthen his/her arguments? Try to provide as much constructive criticism as possible. You don't need to summarise the paper, just critically engage with it. You should write one paper for each section of the course (civil wars, mass killings, and terrorism), but you're free to choose any reading you prefer. The essays are due at the beginning of the class and late assignments will not be eligible for an A. Each report will account for 15% of your grade.

  • Final Project: 40%. In the final project, students will have the opportunity to write a longer essay (about 20 pages) on a topic that interests them. The essay should be related to the readings of the course, but you are particularly encouraged to explore new ideas and use new data to test your hypotheses. Each student has to write his/her own work individually. First, students should submit a one-page summary of their future essay. The instructor and two colleagues will review the paper proposal and give the authors constructive feedback. Students will then write a full article during the term. The deadline is the 17th of December.

Syllabus


Materials


We will not use a textbook in this course. Instead, we will read a number of recent academic articles on our topics of interest. You probably have access to the publications through Brown, but let me know if you cannot find any of them. I will also include links to the book chapters mentioned in the syllabus.

Schedule


Week 01


Part I: Civil Wars



Week 02


Week 03


Week 04


Week 05


Part II: State-Sponsored Violence



Week 06


Week 07

  • October 22: No classes.


    • Assignment 1 due.

Week 08


Week 09


Part III: Terrorism




Week 10


Week 11

  • November 19: Discussion of final projects.



Week 12


Week 13


Week 14


Week 15

  • December 17: Final project.

    • Final paper and assignment 3 due.

Assignments


Please find below the assignments for this class. Please send the referee reports and the final project to me via email at danilofreire@brown.edu until midnight.

Assignment 1 - Civil Wars

  • In this essay, you will have to write a 5-page referee report discussing up to three texts from weeks 02 to 05. Each essay accounts for 15% of your grade.
  • Deadline: October 22.

Assignment 2 - State-Sponsored Violence

  • The same as in the first assignment. Write a comment about any text mentioned from week 06 to week 09.
  • Deadline: November 12.

Assignment 3 - Terrorism

  • Texts we discuss in weeks 10 to 14.
  • Deadline: December 17.

Assignment 4 - Final project

  • The last assignment demands a bit more work, and it should be about 20 pages long. Each student has to write their own paper individually. The schedule will be as follows. First, send me a one-page summary of your idea by October 1st. I will read the text and circulate it to two other students selected at random. They should also provide constructive feedback to the authors in one week. Feedback should be sent back to me by the October 8 and I will forward them to the authors. Then you can start working on your project. We have also scheduled one session on November 19 to check the progress of your papers. You will then have about a month to write the final version of the paper and hand them in. The project accounts for 40% of your final grade. Best of luck!
  • Deadline: December 17.