UWM Class Puts Terrorism in Perspective

MILWAUKEE — Paul Rivas began thinking about the threat of terrorism to America's cities long before the "war on terrorism."

A doctoral student in urban studies, he teaches "Terrorism and Urban Life" at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee while he is working on a thesis on domestic terrorism.

These orange-coded days, Rivas' class usually begins with a brief discussion of current events before getting into the history, philosophy and results of terrorism. He traces the roots of modern terrorism to the mid 1800's, and touches on everything from the Irish Republican Army to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh to an edgy post-September 11 world.

Rivas has taught the course for three semesters, and not surprisingly has little trouble finding students. He began studying the topic in the wake of McVeigh's attack on the Murrah Federal Building in 1995.

"The old saying is that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, and that's one of the dynamics we explore in the class," he said. "We look at some other issues, too.

"The federal government considers not only harm to humans, but damage to property as well in it's definition of terrorism. We've had some interesting discussions around that," he explained. "What if an environmental group starts chopping down billboards? An animal rights group sets lab animals free?

"Some students don't really see that as true terrorism; others do. What about radical anti-abortion web sites that don't advocate terrorism but incite others to it? Can those be considered terroristic?"

One thing he likes to make clear to his students: terrorism rarely accomplishes its stated goal.

"If you're interested in derailing peace efforts, it's very effective," he says, pointing to Ireland and the Middle East as examples. "If you're trying to effect social change, it's not particularly effective."

###

Return to News Index