Courses

The Law of Violence

The Law of Violence is an intensive introduction to key theoretical texts that can inform a nuanced understanding of the controversial yet crucial nexus between law and violence. What is the relationship between law and violence? Are they mutually exclusive forms of human action? Is it a paradox that law employs violence in claiming to prevent or circumscribe the latter? Is it a contradiction that violence is often the means to establish or change the law? We will consider these questions within historical contexts of “the nation-state” and the global legal order. The case of refugees—often caught “outside” or “in between” the law—will also be considered. Authors to be studied include Arendt, Agamben, Negri, Benjamin, Derrida, Foucault, Anghie and Schmitt. The class is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.