1|Page
Syllabus
The Terrorist Mind
SOCI 4957/5957
Fall 2012
Instructor Contact Information
Instructor: Paul Kamolnick, Ph.D., Professor. aka: “Dr. K”
Meeting Place and Time: 402 Rogers-Stout, Tues., 4-6:55 pm
How to contact me:
Office: 223A Rogers-Stout
Office phone: 439-6652
Office hours: M,W,F:10:30-11:15; T, 10:00-11:00, and by appointment.
e-mail: kamolnp@etsu.edu
Learning Outcomes
A student should be able to . . . .











define terrorism.
depict the relations between individuals, groups, society, terrorism, political violence, and
government.
determine whether in fact a ‘terrorist mind’ does exist.
summarize the evidence for/against the existence of a normal/abnormal terrorist mind.
identify the normal mechanisms of moral disengagement that enable killing.
depict the limits of psychological mechanisms for understanding terrorist acts, and also the
implications of those limits for counterterrorist policies.
specify the major precursors to contemporary political terrorism?
indicate the four major waves of sub-state terrorism circa 1870s-1990s.
survey and summarize chief facts about the biography and writings of select contemporary
terrorists, and in so doing, seek to answer the question: What, if anything, they reveal about
the existence of ‘a terrorist mind’.
ascertain similarities (if any) or differences (if any) between the following sub-types of political
terrorism: right-wing terrorism, left-wing terrorism, suicide terrorism, and al-Qaedist antiAmerican mass-casualty political terrorism.
reflect, based on the above, on what has been learned about ‘the terrorist mind’.
2|Page
Course Organization/Methodology
This course is based in a lecture-discussion format. The instructor is primarily responsible for
presenting material. However, presentation will involve active questioning of students about required
readings. Question-based learning is more active, and productive, and engages several skills required for
future professional success. Please do your best to read required readings before class. You do not have
to master those readings, but you should be able to respond to questions about them. You may also
formulate questions of your own about the reading and bring them to the attention of the class. If your
instructor is the only one doing the reading, and the class is unable or unwilling to engage in some
degree of active learning, the class is likely to stall, and your instructor will default to a monological
method of lecture without sufficient interaction. That is not a desirable outcome. Please do your best to
take advantage of this unique learning opportunity for a subject that is of great personal and
professional interest.
Grading/Evaluation
Grading Scale
The official ETSU +/- Scale is used in this course. Graduate students cannot earn below a C- to
pass the course.
A
94-100%
C
74-76
A90-93
C70-73
B+
87-89
D+
67-69
B
84-86
D
65-66
B80-83
F
64 and below
C+
77-79
Exams
A mid-term and final exam are used to assess and evaluate student mastery of the course
learning outcomes. These will be take-home, essay, open-book exams. Graduate students will be
evaluated based on standards appropriate for graduate-level mastery.
Mid-term (50%)
Final-Exam (50%)
Required Books:
Six of our books are available at the bookstore, unfortunately the seventh (American Terrorist,
about McVeigh and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing) is not. I have ordered a copy for myself and will
photocopy it entire, and make it available as a pdf.
1. Alston Chase, A Mind for Murder: The Education of the Unabomber and the Origins of Modern
Terrorism, Harper, 2003.
3|Page
2. Terry McDermott and Josh Meyer, The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the
Real 9/11 Mastermind, Little Brown, 2012
3. Robert A. Pape and James Feldman, Cutting the Fuse: The Global Explosion of Suicide Terrorism
and How to Stop It., U Chicago Pr, 2010,
4. Peter L. Bergen, The Osama bin Laden I Know, Free Press, 2006.
5. Terry McDermott, Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: Who They Were, Why They Did It. Harper,
2006, paper.
6. Montasser Al-Zayyat, The Road to Al-Qaeda: The Story of Bin Laden’s Right-Hand Man, Pluto,
2004.
Other Required Readings:
Additional Readings will be on the D2L site accompanying the course.
Course Itinerary
I. What is Terrorism? What is the Relationship between Society, Terrorism, Political Violence, and the
State? [Aug. 28]
Reading: Alex P. Schmid, “The Revised Academic Consensus Definition of Terrorism,”
Perspectives in Terrorism, May 2012, Vol.6, No.2, pp. 158-159 (orig. A.P. Schmid, ed., Handbook
of Terrorism Research, Routledge, 2011, pp. 86-87. (Posted on D2L)
[Bracketed Questions Raised, but Not Analyzed ,in This Course.
MORALITY. What is the Moral Status of Terrorism? (Just/unjust; right/wrong)
JURISPRUDENCE. What is the Legal Status of Terrorism? (legal/illegal)
PRUDENCE. Does Terrorism ‘Work’? (prudence/imprudence)]
II. Does a ‘Terrorist Mind’ Exist? [Sept. 4]
What Do the Data Report About Evidence For/Against an Abnormal versus Normal ‘Terrorist Mind’?
Reading: Jeff Victoroff, “The Mind of the Terrorist: A Review and Critique of Psychological
Approaches,” Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2005, 49(3):3-41.
What are the Normal Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement that Enable Killing?
Reading: Albert Bandura, “Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement,” in W. Reich, Ed., Origins of
Terrorism: psychologies, ideologies, theologies, states of mind, pp. 161-191. Baltimore and
London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998 [orig. 1990]
Reading: “Dr. K, Outline and Synopsis of ‘A. Bandura, Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement’”
4|Page
III. Limits of Psychological Mechanisms, and Implications for Counterterrorism Policy? [Sept. 11]
What are the Key Variables, Including but Extending Beyond the Psychological, That Enable Terrorism?
Reading: Max Taylor and John Horgan, “A Conceptual Framework for Addressing Psychological
Process in the Development of the Terrorist,” Terrorism and Political Violence, 2006, 18:585601.
Reading: Clark McCauley and Sophia Moskalenko, “Mechanisms of Political
Radicalization,” Terrorism and Political Violence, 2008, 20:415-433.
Reading: Audrey Cronin, “Introduction,” In A. Cronin, How Terrorism Ends , pp. 1-13. Princeton
University Press, 2009.
Reading: A.P. Schmid, “Twelve Rules for Preventing and Countering Terrorism,”
Perspectives in Terrorism, August 2012, Vol.6, No.3, p. 77. (D2L)
IV. What Are The Major Precursors, if Any, to Contemporary Political Terrorism? [Sept. 18]
The Ancients to the Moderns.
Reading: Excerpts from W. Lacquer, ed., The Terrorism Reader, New York: Meridian, 1987.
On Tyrannicide [killing of a tyrant, i.e. King who rules through arbitrary violent and
despotic means], several diverse authors. ( pp. 7-43),
The Four Major Waves of Sub-State Terrorism.
Readings: David Rapoport, “The Four Waves of Modern Terrorism,” in D. K. Gupta, Ed.,
Terrorism and Homeland Security, chapter two (pp. 46-73). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2005
(orig. 2001.2002).
Readings: Excerpts from W. Lacquer, ed., The Terrorism Reader, New York: Meridian, 1987.
The Origins of Modern Terrorism, , select authors, esp. Left, anarchist,
anarcho-communist (pp. 47-116)
IV. What Do The Lives and Writings of Select Terrorists Reveal, if Anything, About the Contemporary
Terrorist Mind? [
A. Right-Wing Terrorism. (Green, Brown, Other)
Theodore Kacynski(‘Anti-Modern Industrial Society’Political Eco-Terrorism) (Green) [Sept. 25]
Readings
Biography: Alston Chase, A Mind for Murder: The Education of the Unabomber and the
Origins of Modern Terrorism, Harper, 2003.
Writings: “The Unabomber’s Manifesto.”
Timothy McVeigh (Rightwing Anti-Government’ Political Terrorism) [Oct. 2]
Readings:
Biography: Michel and Herbeck, American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the
Oklahoma City Bombing, Harper, 2001.
5|Page
Writings/Interviews: “Timothy McVeigh’s Letter to FOX News”
Anders Breivik (‘Anti-Immigrant/Anti-Muslim Ethno-Racial Political Terrorism) (Brown) [Oct.9]
Readings:
Biography: News-clips pdf.
Writings: Excerpts from “ 2083: A European Declaration of Independence” .
MID-TERM EXAM ESSAY QUESTIONS HANDED OUT THE 9TH, DUE BACK 23RD.
B.
Left-Wing Political Terrorism. (Black, Red) (‘Anti-Globalization’/’Anti-Capitalist’) [Oct. 23]
Readings:
(1) S. Nechaev, “Catechism of a Revolutionist,” 1869. (D2L)
(2) USA Weather Underground, , “Praire Fire: Political Statement,” 1974. (D2L)
(3) German Red Army Faction (Beider-Meinhof), “The Concept of the Urban Guerilla,”
1971. (D2L)
(4) Guzman, Peru, Shining Path, “The War of the Philosopher King,” (D2L)
C.
Modern Suicide Terrorism. [Oct. 30]
Reading: Robert A. Pape, “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism,” American Political
Science Review, August 2003, 97(3):343-361.
Reading: Anne Speckhard, Beatrice Jacuch and Balentijn Vanrompay, “Taking on the
Persona of a Suicide Bomber: A Thought Experiment,” May 2012, Perspectives in
Terrorism, 6(2):51-73.
Modern Suicide Terrorism (cont’d.) [Nov. 6]
Reading: Scott Atran, “The Genesis of Suicide Terrorism,” Science, 299 (2003, 15341539.
Reading: Robert Pape and James Feldman, Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global
Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It. University of Chicago Press, 2010: Introduction,
chapters 1-2, Conclusion.
D.
Al-Qaedism and Mass-Casualty Anti-American Political Terrorism.
Ramzi Yousef (The 1993 WTC and Other Terrorist Plots; KSM’s nephew) [Nov. 13]
Reading:
Simon Reeve, The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden, and the
Future of Terrorism, Boston: Northeastern University, 1999, ch. 12.
Reading: The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden, and the
Future of Terrorism, Boston: Northeastern University, 1999, Appendix Three (pp. 27475), “A letter from Ramzi Yousef and the other conspirators in the World Trade Center
bombing, published as received by the New York Times four days after the February
1993 explosion.”
Khalid Sheikh Muhammad (KSM--9/11 Mastermind; Yousef’s uncle.) [Nov. 13]
Reading: T. McDermott and J. Meyer, The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and
Takedown of the 9/11 Mastermind, New York: Little Brown, 2012: chapters 1-5, 9-10.
6|Page
Reading: : “Verbatim Transcript of Combatant Status Review Tribunal for ISN
10024” (D2L; or, The Hunt for KSM, Appendix, pp. 292-323.
Reading: KSM Lectures the Military Tribunal, NYT, 2012. (D2L)
Ayman al-Zawahiri (Violent Revolutionary and Terrorist Justifier; current AQ #1) [Nov. 20]
Readings:
Biography: Montasser Al-Zayyat, The Road to Al-Qaeda: the story of Bin Laden’s righthand man, transl. A. Fekry; ed. Sara Nimis. London: Pluto Press, 2004 [orig. 2002]:
chapters 1-4, 6-8.
Usama bin Laden. (Creator and leader of Al Qaeda until killed May 2, 2011) [Nov. 26]
Reading:
Peter L. Bergen, The Osama bin Laden I Know: An oral history of al Qaeda’s
leader, New York: Free Press, 2006: chapters 1-5, 8-9.
Reading: Terry McDermott, Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: who they were, why they did
it. New York: HarperCollins, 2005, “ Appendix C, and D,” pp. 253-270.
The Nineteen 9/11 Hijackers. (Planners, operators, executors) [Dec. 4]
Reading: Terry McDermott, Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: who they were, why they did
it. New York: HarperCollins, 2005: Appendix A, and B , pp. 245-251.
Reading: Terry McDermott, Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: who they were, why
they did it. New York: HarperCollins, 2005: Book 1, Book 3.
V. Summing Up: What have we learned about ‘the Terrorist Mind’? [Dec. 4]
FINAL EXAM HANDED OUT THE 4TH, DUE BACK BY 13TH BY MIDNITE.