GVPT 399A/388A
Summer Session 1 (399A+388A): June 1-June 19, 2015
Summer Session 1 (388A only): June 1-July 10, 2015
The Politics of Terror: In the Individual, the Community and
the State
Dr. Glass
301-405-4119
Course Description:
GVPT 399A/388A studies the different
psychological and political aspects of terror.
We engage in this study in an intensive three-week workshop that
combines films dealing with various approaches to terror and readings that
demonstrate the role of terror both within the self, the community and the
state. It is the argument of this course
that terror and the terrorized self are political forms of experience that
exercise a significant hold on how we approach the political and public space. What however may be a more subtle argument is
that terror occurs on multiple levels; selves can be terrorized as absolutely
and completely as can states and political targets. The self internalizes terror as a shattering
experience; terror transforms identity and makes us afraid, tentative, and uncertain
both about the boundaries of our internal world and the safety of the external
world. How we deal with that terror is
central to traumatic experiences that individuals may experience at some moment
in their lives.
To be terrorized, whether by fear,
death, or trauma, possesses lasting impacts that can change the course of the
lives of individuals. Similarly terror
in the community poses questions of collective impact; how the terror directed
from outside or inside to a given community affects social, cultural and
political relationships within that community.
Certainly a terrorized community affects the individuals in that
community and presents additional issues of how identity is affected and how
collective trauma affects the internal psychodynamic structures of individual
life. Finally we look at state imposed
terror; terror as a matter of public policy, terror as an instrument of the
state. Terror at all levels raises
serious ethical and moral questions about the kinds of ‘action’ that are defined
as terror; whether they can be considered legitimate; whether they are
warranted, and what the long and short term costs of terror are on the
community, individuals within that community and on political actors
authorizing or engaging in state sponsored terrorism.
Trauma is central to terror; since
terror traumatizes: it traumatizes individuals, communities, groups and
cultures. Much of our discussion in this
course will be to understand how that trauma operates; what it means and how to
understand it.
We undertake this exploration of terror and trauma through a
combination of films and readings. We
meet four days a week and after we screen the film the class breaks up into
small groups where we will discuss the films, their psychological and political
implications and how our own personal experience of the film affects our
understanding of terror and trauma.
Discussion sections will be small in order to assure ample time and
space for intensive discussion and analysis of both the films and the readings.
Required Readings: (for 399A and the online version of the
course)
Iris Chang, Rape of Nanking (first week)
Jessica Stern, Terror in the Name of God (second week)
Michael Herr, Dispatches (third week)
Schedule of Films: See below.
Requirements: FOR THOSE STUDENTS TAKING ONLY 399A (three
credits):
You are required to attend films and discussion
sections. You are permitted one absence;
any additional absence will need to be substantiated by a note or letter from a
physician or other professional requiring you not to be in class. You are required to write three short essays
(5-7 pages, double-spaced), one per week.
The first two will be due on Tuesdays, sent to me by e-mail. The third, which is in effect a take home
final, will be due on Monday, June 23.
You will be given essay questions on each Friday. The essays will cover only the films and
readings for the previous week. You are also required to keep short (one to two
pages) journals of each film. These
journals will be graded pass/fail. You
are required to do the readings.
Participation in discussion section will help push you up to a higher
grade if you are on the borderline between two grades. ATTENDANCE AT DISCUSSION SECTIONS IS REQUIRED.
For those taking both 399A and 388A for a combination of SIX
credits:
399A requirements are listed above. For 388A, you will work out with your
discussion leader a topic or theme you want to think and write about during the
three weeks following the intensive workshop class. You will be asked to see an additional five
films and will be given additional reading.
You will use those films and the readings in your paper, which are the
sole requirements for 388A. The paper
will be 20 pages in length, no more than 25 pages and will be due on the last
day of the first summer session.
For those taking ONLY 388A (three credits), the online
version of this course:
You will be required to see all the films listed in the
schedule of films as well as do all the readings listed in the ‘required
readings’. Every two weeks, you will
submit a paper (the questions will be e-mailed to you) of 5-7 pages on the
first four films in the schedule, working into the paper the reading assignment;
the second two weeks, you will submit a paper on the second four films, working
in the reading; and for your final exam you will submit a paper on the last
four films in the schedule of films, working in the reading. Your grade will be
determined by an average of the grades of the three essays. You will also have a twice-weekly e-mail
exchange with your teaching assistant, discussing what films you’ve seen and
the impact these films have had on you. You are welcome to complete the course as soon
as you wish; but you must adhere to the requirements listed above, no matter at
what pace you see the films or complete the readings. Because of copy right laws, we are unable to
provide the films online; however, Netflix and Amazon should have all of them.
Grading:
399A+388A:
- For 399A: The first paper will count 30%; the second, 35%, and the third, 35%.
- For 388A: Final Essay (Independent Study), 100%.
388A only: The first paper will count 25% of your grade;
the second paper, 30%; the third paper, 30%.
Your online participation will count 15%.
GVPT399A+388A Combined Film Schedule*:
Terror in and on the Self
June 2: Ordinary People
3:
Black Swan
4: Shutter
Island
5: Incendies
Terror in the Community
June 9: Hotel Rwanda
10:The Beider
Meinhoff Gang
11: City of
God
12: Paradise Now
Terror in and by the State
June 16: Munich
17: District 9
18: Rendition
19: The Grey
Zone
Students may enroll for either three or six credits; if you
enroll for three credits and intend to take the on-campus course, sign up for
GVPT 399A; you may also take the course as an online, three credit course. If you do that sign up for GVPT 388A. If you choose to take the course for six
credits sign up for both 399A and 388A.
For those taking the course for six credits, 388A covers the second
three weeks of the first summer session.
You do an independent project on your own that builds from the first
three-week 399A session. You work with
your discussion leader on a paper topic and that paper will be due at the end
of the first summer session. You do not
have to be on campus to do GVPT 388A. For those of you taking the online 388A ONLY
you have the entire first summer session, through July 10, to complete the above
list of films. You will be required to make your own
arrangements for viewing the films. They
are available, although not all in streaming, at both Netflix and Amazon. Some may be on You Tube. If you have any questions feel free to contact Professor Glass
at extension X5-4119 or jglass1@umd.edu.
*If you take only GVPT388A, you should take 2 weeks to complete each section.
