Conflict, Violence, and War

The desire for peace and tranquility may run deep in the human spirit, but conflict, violence, and war have been nearly ubiquitous hallmarks of our past. This year's Scientia series will examine the nature and origins of violent conflict, not only in modern-day warfare and throughout human history but in its evolutionary roots within other animal species. By examining a spectrum extending from the appearance of violence in images to the occurrence of competition versus cooperation in experimental gaming and bargaining experiments, we will examine the causes and possible purposes of violent behavior as well as what might be done to contain violence in the future. Speakers will be drawn from a range of academic disciplines, including among others Political Science, History, Religious Studies, Biology, and English.

2004 Fall Lecture Schedule

• Tuesday, 28 September 2004, 4:00 p.m., McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall

Joan E. Strassmann, Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University

"Conflict and Violence in Animals"

Conflict is intrinsic to natural selection, but how often does it take the form of behavioral violence among individuals? Violence can be common in specific social systems. A female chimp severely wounds a male introduced into the group. A mother egret stands on the edge of her nest ignoring the fatal pummeling her second-hatched chick gives her third-hatched chick. A speckled wood butterfly backs off without fighting when he sees the territory is already occupied. Is violence a breakdown in the social system, or an evolved part of it? Do social conventions increase or decrease the likelihood of violence? What can understanding these conventions and their failure tell us about behavioral violence and our own prospects for avoiding it?

Video available here.

• Tuesday, 26 October 2004, 4:00 p.m., McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall

Martin J. Wiener, Mary Gibbs Jones Professor, Department of History, Rice University

"Violence in History"

What does the historical record suggest about whether violence is "natural" or "acquired" to human beings? What does it suggest about the possibilities for reducing its role in human affairs? Have we progressed or retrogressed in recent centuries? This talk, following my own scholarship, will primarily address the history and prospects of interpersonal violence, but will also look at the larger realm of ethnic, national and ideological violent conflict.

Video available here.

• Tuesday, 16 November 2004, 4:00 p.m., McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall

David B. Cook, Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Rice University

"Does Jihad mean Violence?"

"Does Jihad mean Violence?" goes right to the inter-Muslim debate about the many meanings of jihad. While for non-Muslims jihad equals holy war or unreasoning fanaticism, for Muslims it is a closely regulated, religiously sanctioned form of struggle. But does it always mean violence or are there other interpretations of jihad that are equally valid? The answers to these questions are of considerable importance today as Muslims struggle to create an identity for themselves in a pluralistic and global society.

Video available here.

• Tuesday, 7 December 2004, 4:00 p.m., McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall

Richard J. Stoll, Associate Dean and Professor of Social Sciences, Department of Political Science, Rice University

"Are Leo Durocher and Paul Wolfowitz right? Do "Nice States" Finish Last?"

What do Leo Durocher and Paul Wolfowitz have in common? Leo Durocher managed major league baseball teams for 21 years. One of his most famous quotes is "nice guys finish last," and his style as a manager reflected that point of view. Paul Wolfowitz is Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Bush administration, and in addition to being a top-level decision maker in the administration, has for years provided some of the key intellectual underpinnings for the neo-conservative movement. An important presumption of neo-conservatives is that the world is a dangerous place, and that states must act to pursue their vital interests, including being willing to use force. In the opinion of neo-conservatives, it would be perilous to ignore this; nice states will finish last. But is this necessarily the case? I will discuss several studies that I have done that seek to shed light on this question. The first makes use of a computer simulation of a multi-state system. I use this simulation to conduct experiments to see if "nice states" can survive and prosper in a world that functions according to the principles of political realism. The second is an empirical study to provide some degree of validation for the results of the simulation. My conclusion is that "nice states" are not condemned to finish last.

Video available here.

2005 Spring Lecture Schedule

• Tuesday, 18 January 2005, 4:00 p.m., McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall

Kirsten Ostherr, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Rice University

"Violence in the Mass Media"

Why are visual representations of violence often subject to greater public scrutiny and moral opprobrium than offscreen acts of individual and group violence? Why are some representations of violence considered socially acceptable while others are not? What role do aesthetics and genre conventions play in differentiating categories of violent imagery? This lecture will address current mass media representations of violence in relation to the history of attempts to restrict - and at times promote - the distribution of violent imagery to the American public. By focusing on the regulation of violent content in popular media - both Hollywood film and commercial broadcast television - I will provide an overview of the changing definitions of violence in different contexts and historical periods, and I will attempt to explain the central role of violence in American entertainment.

Video available here.

• Tuesday, 15 February 2005, 4:00 p.m., McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall

Rick K. Wilson, Herbert S. Autrey Chair of Political Science, Professor of Psychology, Professor of Statistics, Department of Political Science, Rice University

"In Others We Trust?' Roots of Human Cooperation and Conflict"

Despite predictions that humans are self-interested organisms that inevitably are in conflict with others, more often than not, people show considerable levels of trust and a willingness to cooperate with strangers. In this talk, I look at the ways in which humans cooperate, rather than kill one another.

Video available here.

• Tuesday, 15 March 2005, 4:00 p.m., McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall

David J. Schneider, Professor, Department of Psychology, Rice University

“The Psychology of Violence"

Are humans naturally violent? If so, how do we explain the large differences in violence rates across cultures and nations? Why is the United States among the most violent of industrialized countries? Why are most of us non-violent and a few of us excessively so? Psychologists and other social scientists have studied violence for many decades, but modern approaches draw heavily not only on traditional psychological, sociological and cultural theories, but also on evolutionary psychology, genetics, and neuroscience. Although many people seem to think that we need a special, esoteric, psychology to explain the behavior of violent people, almost all forms of violence can be explained using fairly straightforward psychological principles supplemented by knowledge of biological, societal and cultural factors.

Video available here.

• Tuesday, 19 April 2005, 8:00 p.m., McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall – THE BOCHNER LECTURE

George Rupp, President of the International Rescue Committee (former president of Rice University, 1985-1993)

"Local Conflicts/Global Challenge"

Dr. Rupp discusses how conflicts in the world today differ markedly from the dominant pattern of the past 350 years. He shows how conflicts in such countries as Sudan, Afghanistan, and Congo pose a global challenge for the developed as well as the developing world. His presentation draws on the experience of the International Rescue Committee and sketches how its work seeks to address this global challenge.

Video available here.