| Description: | This course explores the dynamics of conflict in social relations and investigates the circumstances under which violence, in its different aspects, may arise, on the understanding that while conflict can no doubt play a positive role in social life, by no means the same can be said of violence. The first part of the course will deal with conflict and violence at the "micro" level - that is with conflict and, occasionally, violence among individuals in everyday social relations - and specifically with the role played by the pragmatic dimension in conflictual interactions. The second part of the course will deal with conflict at the "macro" level - that is conflict between large groups - focusing especially on the investigation of the circumstances under which conflict is likely to erupt into macro-scale violence. In this light, the concept of ethnic identity shall be analyzed, and the notion of ethnic conflict - with examples from Africa, Asia, and the Balkans, illustrated with the aid of documentary films - will be put under scrutiny. |