The Anthropology of Violence and Law

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course explores law and violence in anthropological and social scientific perspective. Law, as a system of rules to regulate behavior and manage conflict, exists in many forms from the written codes of the state to the oral traditions of indigenous societies. We interrogate the complexities and ambiguities of the law-violence relationship, given that the law is often meant to control, ameliorate, and offer redress for violence or conflict, while the law may also constitute a mechanism of violence itself. We will examine influential theoretical paradigms for thinking about law and violence in the social sciences, read ethnographic texts addressing law and violence, and explore how qualitative researchers might address questions of law and violence in their work. Eligible for LLSO Junior Colloquium.