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