Making sense of mass violence: Who is ‘the perpetrator’?
Part of the "Making sense of mass violence" seminar series with Professor Abram de Swaan
- Date
- 11 October 2022
- Time
- 18:00 -21:00
- Location
- Amsterdam University College (AUC)
- Room
- Common Room
Is the perpetrator a common man? A specialist in the use of violence? A fanatic? A man with a psychological predisposition to violence? A soldier committed to its country? What is the role of the youth (indoctrination, idealism, lack of knowledge of real-life?) What is the role of ideology (e.g. (ethnic) nationalism, white supremacy)? What is the role of agency? Why do people willingly decide to join the SS, militias, paramilitaries or the Sonderkommanado instead of the regular army?
What is the role of the political/mediatic discourse of the time? What is the role of peer pressure? What role do the potential perpetrators’ feelings of “injustice” and “undeservedness” of the target group’s access to certain valued resources play in their willingness to participate in violence towards this group? What is the role of feelings such as civic duty, need to belong, need for certainty in uncertain times, as well as shame, resentment and rage? How should we account for the often genuine sense of anger and indignation towards (potential) victims that is reported by some perpetrators?
| Speaker: | Prof. Dr. Abram de Swaan is an essayist, sociologist and professor emeritus at the University of Amsterdam. In 1996, he became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. His most important recent book is The Killing Compartments: The Mentality of Mass Murder (Yale University Press, 2015). His full bio can be found at http://deswaan.com/ |
| Location: | Common Room Amsterdam University College Science Park 113 Amsterdam 1098XG |
| Convenors: | Dr. Erica Pasini & Dr. Maxim Kupovykh |
Join online
You can also join all editions of the "Making sense of Mass Violence Seminars" online by using the link to the webinar below.
