Don Weenink will present the micro-sociological approach to studying violence. Micro-sociology perceives violence as meaningful, embodied and emotionally charged interactions in which people purposively inflict physical harm to others. The lecture will discuss why it is important to explicitly consider meanings, embodiment and emotions in studies of violence. Examples of (ongoing) research on the escalation and de-escalation of violent situations based on video footage will be used to demonstrate how micro-sociology can contribute to advancing our understanding of violence.