SELCS

Urban Violence and Insecurity: Representations and Realities

Course code: ELCS6067
Tutor: Dr M Moran
Level: Intermediate
Mode of Assessment: 3 hour desk examination
Term: taught in term 2

Course Description:

This course uses case studies of recent riots in France and the UK to address wider questions about media and political representations of urban violence. In 2005, the deaths of two teenagers in the Parisian suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois sparked three weeks of riots that spread across the country. In 2011, the United Kingdom experienced comparable events when the shooting of a young man in Tottenham by police resulted in five days of rioting in major UK cities. The course will explore the extent to which representations of these riots accurately reflect the social, cultural and political contexts of the riots. Areas of particular focus will include the history of rioting in the UK and France, the causes and effects of urban violence, identity and belonging, policing and the psychology of collective action.

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate a firm grounding in the on-going debates in the study of urban violence and insecurity in the UK and France;
  • Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the main theoretical approaches to the understanding of urban violence and riots, and an in depth knowledge and understanding of selected riots in Britain and France;
  • Reflect upon and critically analyse secondary and primary sources.

Initial Bibliography:

The texts below will be complemented by additional book chapters and articles which will be made available via moodle. The course will also incorporate screenings and analysis of Paris in Flames, a 2005 documentary on the French riots and The Riots: In Their Own Words, a 2012 documentary on the UK riots.

Jobard, F. “Rioting as a Political Tool: the 2005 Riots in France”, The Howard Journal (2009), Vol.48, No.3, pp.235-244.

Moran, M., The Republic and the Riots: Exploring Urban Violence in French Suburbs, 2005-2007 (Oxford: Peter Lang: 2012)

Mucchielli, L. “Autumn 2005: A Review of the Most Important Riot in the History of French Contemporary Society”, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (2009), Vol. 35, No. 5, pp. 731-751.

Murji, K. and Neal, S. “Riot: Race and Politics in the 2011 Disorders”, Sociological Research Online (2011), Vol.16, No.4 <http://www.socresonline.org.uk/16/4/24.html>

Reicher, S. and Stott, C. Mad Mobs and Englishmen? Myths and Realities of the 2011 Riots (London: Constable and Robinson, 2011). E-book.

Roberts, D. (ed.), Reading the Riots: Investigating England’s Summer of Disorder (London: Guardian Books, 2012). E-book.

Stott, C. And Drury, J. “Crowds, context and identity: Dynamic categorization processes in the ‘poll tax riot’”, Human Relations (2000), Vol.53, Issue 2, pp.247-273.

Waddington, D., Jobard, F. and King, M. (eds.), Rioting in the UK and France: A Comparative Analysis (Willan Publishing, 2008).