Course info

Violent Extremism and Radicalization: The course aims to develop knowledge of the religious, social, cultural and political roots of violent extremism, terrorism, and radicalization in the US and the world, and to provide balanced frameworks that may lead to their peaceful transformation. The course will be studied from the vantage point of the field of peace and conflict studies, using frameworks and models intended to deeply analyze several case studies from the US and different parts of the world. The course materials and activities will culminate in an exploration of methods and processes that would advance positive peaceful approaches in various types and levels of conflicts, and which are suitable for the realities of the 21st century.

The course does not start with a simplistic assumption that "religion has been the cause of all conflicts". Instead, the course studies critically the role of religion (along with other factors, such as nationalism, ethnicity, race, class, gender, among others) in contributing to conflict causes, influencing its persisting negative and destructive dynamics, and in peacefully resolving and transforming conflicts.

Finally, the course provides an opportunity for students to focus and apply their learning to examples from their own context or their interest, to investigate causes and dynamics of radicalization and violent extremism in the US and beyond, and approaches to peacefully transform them.