Dr. Robert Saunders - HIS 341 Terrorism and the Modern World

Our course traces the global impact of acts of terror by states, non-state actors, and revolutionary organizations operating at a domestic and international level. We compare various “waves” of terror which have gripped the globe, analysing similarities and differences between groups such as the IRA, Ku Klux Klan, and al Qaeda. As a study abroad experience, our summer 2024 offering will focus on how political violence has shaped the modern Italian state and the nation’s political culture. With Italy functioning as a case study, we will consider the Habsburg police-state in response to revolutionary Carbonari secret societies in the 1800s, the role of street violence in the early fascist movement, and the Years of Lead when far-left Red Brigades and neofascist organizations terrorized the country. We will also examine Italy’s participation in the Global War on Terror and subsequent blowback, as well as the connection between violence, organized crime, and politics in the country.