The Anthropology of violence
@inproceedings{Riches1988TheAO, title={The Anthropology of violence}, author={David Riches}, year={1988} }
COURSE DESCRIPTION This class presents an upper division introduction to the anthropology of violence. We begin with a brief discussion of the biological basis of aggression and archaeological evidence of past human conflicts. We then discuss three different forms of violence: structural violence (violence imposed by large-scale social structures), symbolic violence (violence inherent in identity politics such as sexism, racism, ethnocentrism, and jingoistic nationalism), and state violence…
189 Citations
The Anthropology of Violent Interaction
- Political ScienceJournal of Anthropological Research
- 1994
THIS ESSAY ARGUES that the future of anthropology depends in part on sustained reflection on and extended empirical inquiries into violent processes. It places emphasis on the potential that a…
An Anthropological Contribution to Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies
- Political Science
- 2006
This article takes its stance in the fruitful perspectives with which anthropology may contribute to peace and conflict resolution studies, a field seemingly dominated by political science. Not only…
Children and the Politics of Violence in Haitian Context
- Political Science
- 1999
An anthropology of children and violence must address the specific conditions under which children are more (or less) likely to be nurtured and protected, rather than abused, battered or exposed. The…
Violence, Peace and War in ‘Early’ Human Society: The Case of the Eskimo
- Political Science
- 1987
This chapter is offered as a contribution of social anthropology to grasping certain matters about peace and war which preoccupy members of my own (middle-class urban) society. Since what follows…
Violence, Human Insecurity, and the Challenge of Rebuilding Haiti
- Political ScienceCurrent Anthropology
- 2015
This article uses a set of case histories to describe the physical and social terrain of violence in Cité Soleil, Haiti, before and after the January 2010 earthquake. Employing empirical data, it…
The Portrayal of Native American Violence and Warfare: Who Speaks for the Past?
- Political Science
- 2012
We raise a series of key issues and questions concerning the depiction and portrayal of native North American violence and warfare as it has been expressed in art, education, and entertainment over…
The demonic genius of politics? Social action and the decoupling of violence and politics
- Political Science
- 2017
This paper explores the way violence is simultaneously absent and present in our everyday understanding of politics and the State. It argues that politics does not have to be an arena inherently and…
Types of Violent Events
- Political Science, Sociology
- 2009
Violence is a blanket term that covers several analytically distinct social phenomena. These can only be understood when they are treated as elements in events. A re-examination of my own study of…
Violence, Suffering and Human Rights
- Political Science
- 2003
This article develops a trenchant critique of the rise of human rights as the main universal standard against which to judge violence and suffering. It begins with a case study of an act of mass…
The Demonic Genius of Politics? Social Action and the Decoupling of Politics from Violence
- Political Science, Sociology
- 2017
This paper explores why new ways of “knowing” and acting on violence could lead to a reconsideration of Weber’s pessimistic coupling of politics and violence. This coupling remains hugely influential…