Welcome to the Teaching About Terrorism blog. This blog is the home of the Teaching About Terrorism Special Interst Group of C-SAP (Centre for Sociology, Anthropology, Politics) of the UK Higher Education Academy.
The group was established in 2008 and held its first meeting at Strathclyde University in September of that year. The group focuses on pedagogical issues faced by academics engaged in the delivery of courses on ‘terrorism’, political violence and associated subjects. The group offers a forum for discussion of these contested issues and encourages a wide participation from academics and teachers in this area.
In recent months the question of the relationship between teaching or research materials and the commission of ‘terrorist’ acts has become an important public issue. The arrest of Nottingham University postgraduate student Rizwaan Sabir and a Nottingham administrator Hicham Yezza in relation to the downloading of an ‘Al Qaeda’ manual for Sabir’s dissertation research has highlighted the emerging and ongoing difficulties of teaching about ‘terrorism’ and political violence in the current climate.
The aim of this initiative is to explore how the issues associated with teaching about ‘terrorism’ have been handled and will provide guidance on ethical issues and best practice. Issues to be addressed include:
- Ethical issues in teaching about political violence
- Modes of delivery: what is best practice?
- Handling sensitive subjects
- External monitoring and guidance on teaching contents and reading lists
- Legal and other concerns about teaching political violence
- The role of universities in monitoring students
- The impact of law enforcement agencies on teaching activities
- Advising government and other policy bodies
- Issues of academic freedom
The group includes academics from across the UK at more than 30 institutions of higher education. The working group is being convened by David Miller of Strathclyde University (davidmiller@strath.ac.uk).
We welcome additional members to join the group. To find out more please get in touch.
The blog will be used to post resources on teaching about ‘terrorism’ and associated subjects as well as other relevant information about issues and challenges faced in teaching about terrorism by academics all over the world, though the group itself is largely based in the UK.
Links
- The Teaching About Terrorism e-list: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/TEACHING-ABOUT-TERRORISM.html
- The Teaching About Terrorism page on the C-SAP website: http://www.c-sap.bham.ac.uk/about_us/sigs/teaching_terrorism.htm