Overview

This unit introduces students to the concept of violent extremism and to policies designed to counter it. It traces the emergence of the concept of violent extremism in policy discourse and academia, and situates it within terrorism studies more broadly. The unit encourages students to engage in critical analysis of the concept of violent extremism and policies designed to counter it. It uses recent examples of incidents of home-grown extremism and the development of counter extremism policy to help students to analyse the issues in their real-world context.

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Teaching Period 3
Location
Online
Start and end dates
04-November-2024
09-February-2025
Last self-enrolment date
17-November-2024
Census date
29-November-2024
Last withdraw without fail date
27-December-2024
Results released date
04-March-2025

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Critically analyse and assess concepts of violent extremism and approaches to Countering Violent Extremism (CVE)
  • Compare the different ways Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) has developed in global security debates and where it is situated within the broader history of terrorism
  • Critically assess and analyse real-world policy approaches to violent extremism in relation to broader debates in terrorism studies

Teaching methods

Swinburne Online

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
Live Online
Class
0.33 12 weeks 4
Online
Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning
12.17 12 weeks 146
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
Essay 1Individual 30% 1,2 
Essay 2Individual 30% 
ExaminationIndividual 40% 1,2,3 

Content

  • The history of terrorism
  • The history of homegrown violent extremism
  • The concept and history of CVE
  • Responding critically to CVE
  • CVE in the real world

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.