Tagged: Terrorism

Gender & Sexuality / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Another Two Cents on England (and Crawley): Masculinity, Culture, and Tucson

As is often the case with graduate students, I just spent several months in a dissertation-induced haze and only recently had a chance to go through the latest issues of Gender & Society. Among these was the February 2011 issue that included a symposium on Paula England’s 2010 article on the “uneven/stalled gender revolution.” England’s over-reliance on the structural and institutional aspects of gender was underscored by several savvy pieces of Sociology, including a response by Sara Crawley that emphasizes...

Peace, War & Social Conflict / Social Psychology & Lifecourse

The truths of the war in Afghanistan : does visibility decrease support?

On Monday, Wikileaks, a website devoted to exposing the underbelly of the political and corporate world, revealed thousands of documents that, in a nutshell, depict the complications, perils and pitfalls of the war in Afghanistan. One piece of alarming information is that terrorist organizations in Afghanistan are clearly being supported by Pakistan. Another is solid evidence of the corruption of Hamid Karzai (though this has been suspected for quite some time). The force with which this story hit the news...

Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Full-Body Scanners: Explosive Violence or Naked Domination

For the last several months, reports about full-body scanners in airports have been floating in and out of the news cycle.  These machines were sexualized long before they were implemented.  News stories fantasize about every possible voyeuristic scenario, both to titillate and to trouble us.  Then, recently, the media hit gold when “a security worker at London Heathrow Airport […] ogled a female colleague using a full-body scanner […] after his colleague mistakenly strayed into the scanner, which can see...

Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Fear as the Norm

Following heightened security concerns in Yemen as well as the failed Christmas Day bombing aboard a flight approaching Detroit, the Obama administration has opted to drastically increase security concerning all flights destined for the United States. According to the Washington Post, these new Transportation Security Association (TSA) measures include the physical search of all passengers who hold the passport of, are traveling from, or are traveling to a country on the Statement Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism or...

Social Psychology & Lifecourse

Consequences of terror trials in NY: Re-traumatization and Revenge

The announcement that several terror suspects, including Khalid Saikh Mohammed, implicated in the 9/11 attacks, will have their day in New York City courts was released last week. This news sparked fervent debate both between and within political parties for a range of reasons. Why civilian courts? Why in New York City? And what will the ramifications be? One of the possible consequences that has been relatively overlooked is how the incessant coverage of these trials will affect New Yorkers...

Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Disecting Terror

by christinablunt On Monday, 9 a.m. local time, just as the citizens of Nazran were arriving at their offices a suicide bomber drove a truck full of explosives into the police quarters of Ingushetia’s capital city. This act of terrorism is an example of the violence that has become all too familiar in the north caucus region of Russia. The New York Times presents such acts of terror as a nearly daily occurrence. Depending on the account, between 60 and...

Opinion

The lone survivor of British fascism?

by paulabowles Since 9/11, the world’s attention has increasingly been concentrated on the threat of terrorism and the mechanisms designed to uncover and combat it. Much of the focus has been on Al Qaeda; however, a recent British case suggests that this is not the only terrorist threat faced today. On Wednesday, Neil Lewington was found guilty at the Old Bailey of terrorism and explosives offences. He was originally detained for public order offences after being drunk and abusive to...

Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Pirates, Terrorists, and Asymmetric Power

by christinablunt On Wednesday, April 8, a U.S. container ship, the Maersk Alabama, was commandeered by a group of Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. The Maersk Alabama was quickly recovered but the captain, Richard Phillips, was held hostage by four of the pirates on a lifeboat for several days. Negotiations were conducted between the marauders and the American destroyer, the U.S.S. Bainbridge. On April 12, acting with President Obama’s authorization and the belief that Captain Phillips was in imminent...