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what is “terrorism”?
( a take-home quiz )
what is terrorism?
is terrorism the same as fear?
what is “the war on terror”?
is it a war on an emotion?*
*The Epistemology of State Emotion, Lauren Berlant, 2005
or an emotion waging the war?
who, or what, is a terrorist?
a fist?
a puppet?*
*As part of “pre-emptive” arrests of activists at the Republican National
Convention in Philadelphia in August, 2000, police raided their art
space and destroyed puppets as “evidence of criminal plans.”
a mask?*
*Since 2000, laws originally passed over a century ago as anti-Ku Klux Klan
measures have been used in many cities and states in the u.s.a. to block, repress,
and derail anti-war, anarchist, and anti-global capital protests.
Demonstrators have been arrested for wearing masks and
even hooded jackets.
a masked man?
a man with a gun?
a masked man with a gun?
a woman with a gun?
do terrorists work alone?
or in groups?
• Image of lynchings, kkk
are terrorists anonymous?
or “known unknowns”?
is the terrorist an “unknowable subject”?
why do some writers assert that this is so?*
* “It’s just too hard -- and in some sense not important -- to understand why one human being can actually take a knife to another
person’s throat and lift off his head.”
from “The Terrorist as Auteur,” by Michael Ignatieff, 2004
can you pick out the terrorist from each of
the following pictures?
study this picture.
does it suggest that there are “real” and “unreal” terrorists?
is it a question of knowing the “real” from the “fake”?
why is this woman laughing?
now study these pictures.
is war the same as terrorism?
why or why not?
Explain.
( use the back side of your paper if necessary )
is torture terrorism?
does the terrorist have a country?
can states be terrorists?
( sic )
who decides?
when was the first time the word “terror” was
used in a political context?
is terrorism a job or a vocation?
a tactic, or a strategy?
is there such a thing as a “terrorist for hire”?
Leon Golub
which group defined themselves as “terrorists” to
distinguish themselves from other
revolutionaries?
• the Jacobins• the Haymarket martyrs• anti-czarist anarchists• the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine• George Bush, Karl Rove, and the neo-cons• none of the above
can a terrorist be nonviolent?
what is the difference between the following:
terroristmilitant
revolutionary guerrilla
insurgent
protestrebellion
insurrectionrevolutioninsurgency
uprisingintifada
Jean-Marc Boujo / AP
do you know the difference between
a machine-gunand a typewriter?1
1. What everyone should know about state repression by Victor Serge
between a machine gunand a vacuum cleaner?2
2. Inextinguishable Fire by Harun Farocki
NOTE: the answers to these questions
are not self-evident.
( Please refer to the study guide. )
some notes on grammar( a review )
terrorism, the noun ( subjective case )
political prisonerextremist
freedom fightersubcomandante Marcos
ZapatistaPatty Hearst
martyr“We” and “They”
terrorism, the noun( objective case )
people fallingfleshy partsbody parts
Oklahoma CityAbu Ghraib
animalparent carrying child, crying
“Us” and “Them”
terrorize, the verb:
what is done, given,or taken away?
what is shaped or decided?
who is the doer, the giver, the taker, the shaper,
the decider?
Now, write a short essay on terrorism, using at least five of the following keywords:
authoritycolonizationconspiracy
controlcultural relativism
devastationdispossession fundamentalism
good and evilignoranceintrigue just wars
martial lawnational identity
neglectparalysispatriotism
peaceful protestpolice violence
powerpropaganda
racial profilingretribution
right and wrong
righteousnessrules of war
securitysurvival
the borderthe statetorture
undeclared warunjust wars
violationwar on civilians
xenophobia
and at least five of the following feelings:
alienationanger
anomieapathy
betrayalblind faithconfusion
despairdisgustdoubt
fearfrustration
hatredhelplessness
hopehopelessness
humiliationimpotence
intimidationnothingness
ragesadness
self-hatredshock
single-mindednesssorrow
surpriseurgency
vengeance
LAST WORDSfrom Edward Said
We’re not in a position to renounce anything that confirms our status
as essentially terrorists, which is what the Israelis have been trying
to convince the world of since the middle 1970s.
( 1996 )
I find the use of the word terrorism in almost any context to be a largely self-defeating tactic… where things “we” do not like
are identified with terrorism.
( 1998 )
Mary Patten, February 2008
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