Understanding Terrorism

A transcript of  a recent interview with Berkeley Professor Neil Smelser has been posted to the Conversations with History Archive at  http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people5/Smelser/smelser-con0.html   A sociologist and psychoanalyst, Smelser, under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences, has been focusing how the social sciences can contribute to our understanding of terrorism. His book will be published this spring.  In the interview, Smelser talks about his intellectual odyssey and how his interest in cultural trauma and social movements facilitated this new focus on issues raised by the 911 attack.