Marc Christopher, 2015

Assignment one
Relevant Background Information: The observations that I provided in the analysis take place within the
lives of the major terrorist group Al-Qaida and the homegrown terrorist Ted Kaczynski aka the
Unabomber. All of the events that I have analyzed in the documentary are significant parts of the United
States history and for the majority have taken place within the last fifty years. Several important sites
and events I will be talking about are the central part of London and the twin towers in New York City
which are two places effected by major attacks by Al-Qaida. Other places include Northwestern
University and UC Berkeley which were a couple of the places targeted by the Unabomber. There will
also be a more in depth look at Afghanistan and Montana which were the places where the terrorist
resided in my observations.
Figured World: A figured world is a social structure in which people are recruited and designed to have
a set of social standards and conventions that each member is expected to obey.
Rules and Conventions: The figured world I chose to do my research topic was based on terrorism more
specifically the sociology behind terrorism and why the groups choose to do what they do. In my paper I
decided to focus on two main terrorist groups one being a domestic or homegrown terrorist and the
other being a group outside of the United States. I decided to choose a specific terrorist rather than a
group for the domestic aspect of the observation because I wanted to compare and contrast the reasons
and how the events are performed between both a group and an individual. The reason I chose this field
to do my research on is because of the fact that it is such a big problem globally and despite the security
we put up people still seem to have the urge to commit these acts. Also I have always been interested in
anything crime or violence related weather it has to do with in neighborhood crime or even all the way
up to terrorism. Terrorism has had a great impact on the strength of our national security and I think
that it is an overall very interesting and important topic to gain knowledge on.
The figured world I decided to base my project off of is the sociology of terrorism. I really want to focus
on why people choose this kind of activity to prove a point. I also will be studying two separate form of
terrorism the first being group and the second being individual. The reason why Im doing this is to
prove that the reasons and tactics vary between who and how many people are involved. The purpose
of the field Im observing is so that we get a better overall view of how the mind of a terrorist works.
This study could be very beneficial to all parts of society based on the reason that anybody at any given
time could initiate or be involved in an act of terror. We need to get a better view of what initiates
somebody to do something of great impact so we can help people and minimize the risk of something
happening. When talking about the rules and conventions of terrorism it is really all over the map.
Terrorism can range anywhere from verbal intentions to blowing things of great importance up to
decapitation. In other terms there really are no rules or regulations for terrorism except for the fact that
they all use some sort of violence to solve a problem. I think that terrorism has a huge part in the key
words we saw in the communities of practice reading. The words domain, and community have
significant connections to terrorism because terrorism is usually started among a group with common
beliefs/interests. Most of the times they commit these act to feel a sense of purpose within their
community.
Actors: An actor is a person that plays a role within a figured world.

Commented [MC1]:
Gia-hoang Trinh
11:54 AM Sep 29
Resolve
Maybe if you could elaborate on Al-Qaida's goals. Like
maybe (If you find the answer), why do they do what they
do? Also, why did you specifically target out the terrorist
"The Unabomber"? What did he do to earn him that
nickname?

Commented [MC2]:
Kevin Meyn
11:22 AM Yesterday
Resolve
Why did you define figured world and then go on to
describe rules and conventions? And in your rules and
conventions you provide personal opinions. You should be
more focused in your topics.
Commented [MC3]: Gia-hoang Trinh
12:08 PM Sep 29
From what I read, I feel as if you somewhat combined both
the rules and conventions and why you chose your figured
world. I also am somewhat puzzled on the rules and
conventions. For this topic I feel as if it might be hard to
actually know what the rules and conventions are. You can
try seeing why they do the things they did, and how they did
it. (Bombs, planes, C4, IED's, etc.)
Commented [MC4]: Gia-hoang Trinh
12:00 PM Sep 29
I really like that you decided to incorporate your reasoning
on why you chose this topic. By doing this, it shows (at least
to me) that you truly are interested in the topic. I like how
you also related this to a global level and not just one where
a few exclusives can relate to.

Commented [MC5]:
Commented [MC6]: Gia-hoang Trinh
11:20 AM Yesterday
You gave very descriptive details when it came to your
definitions. Each one was easy to follow. They also gave
background information on the definitions and there was
little to no confusion.

Marc Christopher, 2015

Ted Kaczynski: Also known as the infamous Unabomber is a homegrown terrorist from
Evergreen park, Illinois. In the research I conducted Ted served as the solo terrorist who was
anything but normal. He embodies the social role of an outcast that never properly conformed
to the norms of society. At a young age he was known to be a very serious individual that was
deeply focused in his studies. He always like being alone locked away in his room far from
everyone else even his family. He was considered a child prodigy at the age of six after scoring a
170 on an IQ test. He went through high school and college continuing with the same social
issues he developed as a kid. In his early adult life Ted makes some drastic move and discovers
who he really is as a person.
Osama bin Laden: Born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Osama bin Laden was most well known for being
the leader and founder of the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaida which was founded in 1988. The
group focused on symbolic acts of terrorism instead of military campaigns. As a child he was
recognized as an outstanding student at school. He received a personal invitation to join a small
Islamic study group with the promise of earning extra credit. He was to memorize the Koran
when he graduated but the group lost its original focus and started education of the principles
of violent jihad. Osama joined the Afghan resistance soon after to fight the invading soviets. This
is when he saw how corrupt the Saudi government was and his frustration with the U.S.
occupation of Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War grew. This was the start of the formation
of al Qaeda.

Commented [MC7]: Kevin Meyn

11:27 AM Yesterday
You should go more in depth into these people's childhoods.
It is important to start off with the core or what it is that
made these terrorists tick. Was there a certain event in their
life like a family death or other tragedy that changed them?

Artifacts: objects that pertain a significant value to a certain character or to a group as a whole.

Kaczynskis Manifesto: The manifesto that ted wrote served as a center piece of his
way of life and what he thought life should be. In his manifesto he stated that the
industrial revolution and its consequences have been a disaster toward the human
race. He also mentions that they have destabilized society, have made life unfulfilling
and have subjected humans to indignities. Ted sent his manifesto to the New York
Times to have it globally published which was ultimately how he got caught. His
brother recognized the style of the writing as his brothers then turned him in to the
FBI.
Koran: This is the sacred Islamic book written in Arabic that is believed to be the word
of God as dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel. This book is a major
influence and really a way of life for the Islams. This book is the basis and the reason
why Al Qaeda commits such acts of violence. The book calls Muslims to war with
nonbelievers for the sake of Islamic rule. Some are quite graphic, with commands to
chop off heads and fingers and kill infidels. Muslims who do not join the fight are
called 'hypocrites' and warned that Allah will send them to Hell if they do not join the
slaughter. This book is considered sacred and a huge part of the Muslim community.

Communities of Practice: People that share a common interest/passion that come

together to collaboratively get better and seek advice on that particular passion.

Library in Lincoln Montana: Though Ted did not like to interact with other
people he occasionally went to a library near his cabin in Montana to keep
himself sane. At the library he liked to read books on philosophy and also

Commented [MC8]: Kevin Meyn

11:32 AM Yesterday
From the way you describe the Koran you make it seem very
loaded/biased. You should be very aware that no major
religious text allegedly claims violence or lives of others.
There are very peaceful Muslims in this world and the types
of Muslims you are studying interpret religious texts in a
way that they can use it to cause violence. This is from my
personal knowledge but it is something to look into.

Marc Christopher, 2015

practiced his writing style and abilities. He also liked to share his intellect about
mathematics and his perspective of life to other people in the library.
Al Qaeda: Al Qaeda has become one of the most prominent and feared terrorist
groups in the world. The group will go to any level to obi by the sacred text of
the Karan which means performing outrageous acts of terror. The year of
Osama bin Ladens death is the year that the overall al Qaeda network became
stronger. The United States still doesnt know exactly what al Qaeda is or exactly
how they are structured so it is very hard to shut them down entirely.

Commented [MC9]:
Commented [MC10]: Kevin Meyn
11:37 AM Yesterday
What do you mean that Ted wanted to keep sane? Are you
implying that he knew of his problems and he is trying to
suppress his murderous intent. Did he ever find anyone to
recruit at the library for his schemes like Charles Manson?

Domain: A domain creates a common ground for the members of a community to

participate within group activities, gives meaning to their actions and guides their
learning.

Religious freedom: One of the main reasons people form terrorist groups is
because of their religious guidelines promise them a certain afterlife or to
achieve religious freedom. Religion is a very controversial subject and is the
reason many wars were fought. These groups will do just about anything to
follow their religion.
Change to Government: Another common goal of terrorists is to somehow
change the structure or policies of a government. This will usually happen if
a person or a group of people do not agree or fit into the structure or
norms of society. They feel like they need to have a voice and society and
choose to do this through violence

Practices of the Community: The things a community performs in order to have a

better understanding of the common interest within the group. An example of this
would be brainstorming ideas or problem solving.

Physical force to cause terror: The primary goal of any terrorist group is to
change the world in some way that they see benefit to. Most of these
groups rely on pure force and destruction to get their point across rather
than using nonviolent methods like speaking or negotiation. This is a way for
the individual or group to get back at society and have a voice in how it is
run.
Fundraising money/making weapons: By no means is terrorism cheap it
takes a lot of cash flow to support its efforts. The Al Qaeda group gets most
of its funds through its followers and neighboring countries. The
Unabomber got most of his funds through his family sending him letters
when he was in his cabin in Montana. Without the funding through the
outside sources these operations would have defiantly been significantly
reduce or possibly nonexistent. Based on the size of the operation the group
can use these funds to make homemade explosive or use the money toward
something else like in al Qaedas case training men for certain terrorist
situations.

Commented [MC11]:
Kevin Meyn
11:43 AM Yesterday
These all seem to be domains of Al Qaeda. What do you
think a domain for Ted would be? But these two are good
examples for Al Qaeda.

Commented [MC12]:
Kevin Meyn
11:46 AM Yesterday
Good examples for practices. Very thorough and it outlines
what terrorists do to make their efforts come about. It still
focuses on Al Qaeda, maybe you can tie in Ted.

Marc Christopher, 2015

Literacy Practices: Ways of communicating within a community whether it is verbal,
written, or body language.

Sending letters: In the Unabombers case since he resided out in the

wilderness the only way to get in touch with him was either to visit him
or send letters through mail. Since Teds family was concerned about
him they sent letters regularly to see how he was doing and often sent
him money so that he could survive. Ted rarely responded to the letters
sent by his family but when he did he was very negative toward them
saying he didnt want anything to do with them anymore.
Underground meetings: Since al Qaeda is located in Afghanistan they
use the mountainous terrain toward their advantage. They have
underground meetings in secretive tunnels to discuss future targets and
tactics they plan to develop and use. They take these precautions to
protect their leaders lives and to be remote from any government
activity.

Observation
2:00mins- Explains that as a child Ted was very serious and did not like affection
from his parents or his family. He did not like to be around anyone else and
usually kept himself isolated in his room. His parents sent him to nursery school
at the age of three to jumpstart his poor social skills. Though he was not gifted
with social skills he was a child prodigy in the classroom. At age six he took an IQ
and scored between 160 and 170 classifying him as a genius. Throughout high
school he never really made any friends or socialized with anybody. He was
considered a nerd by his fellow peers and was picked on frequently. Ted skipped
his junior year of high school and graduated at the age of sixteen. After high
school he went on to attend Harvard on a scholarship where he studied
mathematics. He had carried his antisocial way of life throughout college also
mostly locking himself in his dorm room with his textbooks avoiding human
interaction. He went on to earn a degree in mathematics then transferred to
Michigan University for his masters.
12mins- After getting his masters degree from the University of Michigan he
then was offered a job as an assistant math professor at the University of
California at Berkley one of the nations most prestigious schools for
mathematics. In 1967 Ted decided to resign from Berkley and no longer pursue
the career of mathematics. He set out to find something that fit himself more as
a person. Soon after Ted decided to buy some land in the remote forest of
Lincoln Montana. There he built a one room shack to reside in without running
water or electricity. After several months in the woods Ted moved back to his
parents house in Salt Lake City where he got a job in a rubber factory working
for his brother. He had found happiness when he was dating one of the
supervisors at the factory but soon fell back into his isolation state when she
broke up with him. He then went back to live in his cabin in Lincoln, Montana.

Commented [MC13]: Gia-hoang Trinh

11:27 AM Yesterday
Maybe somewhere in here, you can explain why he went
back to the cabin. I assumed that he went back because of
the breakup. Also why did he start bombing? It was never
clearly explained why he started bombing in the first place.

Marc Christopher, 2015

21mins- A package exploded on the campus of northwestern university on May
24th 1978 injuring a security guard. The incident went largely unnoticed. A year
after another package exploded in the technological institute of the
northwestern campus injuring a grad student. Six months later a package
exploded in the cargo hold of an airplane in a Chicago airport injuring a dozen
passengers. The FBI now suspected they had a serial bomber on their hands.
Now Ted had targeted the president of the American airlines by sending him a
package to his mailbox. The mail bomb severely injured him. In the 1980s the
Unabomber expanded his bombing throughout the U.S but still targeting
colleges and airlines. The University of Utah, UC Berkeley, Vanderbilt, and the
Boeing airline company all received bombs. The Unabomber claimed his first
fatality when he sent a booby-trapped package to a computer store in
California. Ted made his first mistake when he was seen placing an explosive
package on the porch of another computer store. The police drew a sketch of
the supposed bomber which forced Ted to lay low for a while. They also found
wood components in the structures of the bombs which lead them to the fact
that the Unabomber was a skilled woods craftsman.
28mins: After six years of laying low Ted hit back with two mail bombs severely
injuring two college professors. The FBI sent out a massive manhunt for the
suspect and was more urged to find him more than ever. The bombs became
much more deadly now killing more people than ever before. Ted then sent a
manifesto to the New York Times demanding for it to be published. If it were
not published in ninety days he promised to kill again. It was soon published in
hopes that someone could recognize who wrote the letter. Teds brother
recognized the style of writing as being his brothers ten turned him into the FBI.
The FBI searched the cabin and found two active bombs, bombing materials, the
original manifesto and a diary of him admitting to the bombing. Ted was
sentenced to eight life terms in prison without parole.
Interview
Interviewee: Matt Hunter
1) Define terrorism. In your opinion what do you think the objective of
terrorism is? Do all terrorists groups have the same objectives?
Terrorism is committing an act of violence in hopes to change societys
perspective or the way they operate. The main objective of a terrorist act
is to achieve some sort of religious freedom of to rebel against societys
norms or the structure of its government. Most all terrorist groups have
proven to have the same goals.
2) In what ways have the 9/11 attacks effected the United States?
The increase in security across the nation and the awareness of terrorism
as a global threat.
3) Do you think terror can ever be justified why or why not?

Marc Christopher, 2015

No because there are other more effective ways of expressing your
opinion then committing acts of terror. Why kill innocent people when
they are not the root of the problem.
4) In your opinion will terrorism spread or decline in the future? Why do you
think this?
In general I think it will remain pretty constant because there will always
be the cultures whos religion supports these actions. However we are
ramping up security and preventative matters so I think we will be safer in
the future.
5) Is the targeted assassination of a terrorist suspect an effective answer to
terrorism? Why or why not?
No because once you kill the leader of the organization the other followers
will bond stronger and want to rebel even more.

Commented [MC14]: Kevin Meyn

11:44 AM Yesterday
Good thought provoking questions. Forces the interviewee
to strain away from one word answers. It got good answers
to the questions as well.