30211

SoSe 21: Islamist radicalization and extremism

Eylem Kanol

Information for students

Students are expected to read and summarize the primary literature listed for each session. In each session, one student will give a short (~5 minutes) presentation on one article and prepare a handout (1-2 pages). The presentation and the handout should include a general summary of the article, the central (research) question the author(s) was dealing with, how the author(s) attempted to answer the question, main arguments of the paper and finally the conclusions of the author. Before each presentation, we will randomly assign a participant as a discussant to the article. The discussant should critically reflect on the paper as well as on the presentation and address any limitations or extensions of the paper. Furthermore, the discussant should propose a few discussion questions. In order to receive a grade from the seminar, you are required to hand in a research paper. The research paper can be either a case study where you try to answer a research question by looking at the literature or an empirical paper where you collect and analyze your own quantitative/qualitative data. As you can see on the course plan, the sessions will take place on a weekly basis (NB: no session on 03.05. & on 24.05.). We expect from you to prepare a short exposé/proposal of your research paper and hand it in before July (exact deadline to be announced). In July we will have one (or two) block seminar(s) in the form of a “mini conference” where everybody will present their research paper. Here you will have the opportunity to discuss and critically assess each other’s papers. The deadline for handing in your papers is on the 30.09.2021. close

Comments

In this course, we will discuss various theoretical and empirical approaches to Islamist radicalization and extremism. Our main objective is to deal with the following questions: What are the prominent explanations for the support of radical Islamist attitudes? Which factors contribute to the involvement in radical Islamist behavior? For the purposes of this course, I have categorized the available literature into three broad categories: (1) Psychological, social-psychological explanations, and grievance-based explanations; (2) Social Movement Theories; and (3) religion-based explanations. In each session, we will review theoretical concepts from one line of literature and engage with the relevant empirical perspectives. We will focus on Islamist radicalization both in Muslim-majority countries and among Muslims in the Western European context. close