Akkai Padmashali, a prominent transgender activist holds a placard during a protest against violence in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, on July 21, 2023 in Bengaluru, India.

Identity and Violence in Manipur, India

A history of political and economic mismanagement, paired with armed militancy based in ethnic identity, helps explain the protracted violence in the region.
Soldiers fighting in the Battle of Bennington during the American War of Independence

Revolutionary Atrocity

For the Americans, narratives about the savagery of the British became an important part of nation-building and a moral justification for armed rebellion.
Hospital emergency room entrance sign

Medicalizing Domestic Violence

What happens when experts position domestic violence inside a biomedical model of care?
Police tape across a driveway

Ending the Myths about Domestic Homicide

There has been a spike in domestic violence amid the COVID-19 crisis, according to a recent report from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Three police offers in their precinct office

Is Hiring More Black Officers the Key to Reducing Police Violence?

Diversity among officers lags behind the general population. But is police culture a greater problem when it comes to combating excessive force?
An elderly schoolma'am chastising a boy

When Teachers Stopped Beating Kids

Corporal punishment of students largely fell out of favor in the early 19th century. The preferred new system used prizes to encourage good behavior.
Employment of Negroes in Agriculture by Earle Richardson

Racial Violence as Impetus for the Great Migration

Historians traditionally point to economic and social conditions as the primary causes for the Great Migration, but racist hate crimes played a role as well.

Wittgenstein on Whether Speech Is Violence

When is speech violence? Sometimes. It depends. That’s a complicated question.
Birmingham trainyard

A Precedent for Today’s Political Violence

Illegal violence has always been a political tool, often serving the interests of the powerful. A historian looks at the case of 1930s Birmingham, Alabama.
The Fulton Street subway station

The Psychology of Copycat Crime

A recent wave of subway slashings in New York City is an opportunity to examine the criminology and sociology behind copycat crime.