Lipscomb terrorism class helps mitigate fear
Lacey Klotz |
In a year struck by one too many devastating terrorist attacks, a new Lipscomb course in the Department of History, Politics and Philosophy proves rather timely.
Susan Haynes, assistant professor of political science, has spent years studying terrorism, and last spring, introduced a new upper-level elective course this called “Terrorism in the Modern World” that 
provides an academic approach to the fear that is pervading young minds.
“A lot of the younger generation is very fearful of terrorism, and this stems from the way terrorism is depicted in the mainstream media and social media,” said Haynes. “Since conversations about terrorism are already going on, I wanted to try and mitigate this fear by bringing solid research to the conversation and study it in a scholarly way.”
After writing the curriculum for the course in fall 2015, Haynes says the first course offering last spring helped empower students and broaden their views on terrorism.
“Two students explained that they were having these conversations with friends and asked to bring them into the course to join the discussion,” said Haynes. “These students wanted their peers to have the same context that they did, and they wanted them to see terrorism through an academic lens. This affirmed the significance of this course.”
Within the course, Haynes leads students through National Security Council simulations, and talks through complex scenarios that touch on ISIS, policymaking, counter terrorism policies, enhanced security techniques and more. The class also examined the Terrorism Risk Index, which provides a detailed analysis of the changing trends of terrorism, and taught students how to seek educational tools that are at their disposal.
“We try to look at big data sets rather than individual instances and this helps alleviate fear by combating what terrorists are doing: sowing fear into minds every day through singular acts,” Haynes explained.
In a recent interview with News Channel 4, Haynes said the probability of being involved in a terrorist attack is low.
"The fact is that terrorist strategy capitalizes on unpredictability and randomness,” she said. “The message that they want to send is that you are not safe anywhere. But at the same time, you can take solace in the fact that in most places, you are safe, most places, most of the time. And the probability is incredibly low.”
The course is also now required for international relations and is a part of the regular course rotation for political science majors.
“We offer this course as an upper-level elective, and it is open to all majors,” said Haynes. “Last year we had an engineering student who was also a veteran and he provided a valuable perspective. He had more experience than most with the topic, but still found it helpful to study it as an academic subject.”
In addition to the terrorism course, Haynes also teaches American foreign policy international security, international law, constitutional law, American Government and research methods.
A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Haynes graduated from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and pre law. She continued her education at George Mason University, where she obtained a master’s degree in comparative politics in 2010 and a Ph.D. in political science with concentrations in international relations and comparative politics in 2014.
During her time at the University of Tennessee, Haynes had an opportunity to study abroad in China and Russia, which sparked her interest to study those nations and the interplay of those countries including their nuclear powers, energy, arms trade as well as their nuclear dynamics.
Her first research interest, during her Ph.D. program began with security interplay and relations between Russia and China in the Cold War.
Haynes was also given the opportunity to attend the Public Policy and Nuclear Threats boot camp at University of California San Diego, along with a select group of scholars who were nuclear engineers and nuclear strategists.
“This camp really solidified the importance of nuclear weapons for me,” she said. “A lot of the younger generations formative experience is 9/11, and not the Cold War, so the political frame of reference for the world today is different than it once was. Younger generations look at extremism as a threat, when our parents threat was nuclear weapons, and the truth of the matter is terrorism and nuclear powers are not mutually exclusive.”
In 2009, Haynes published an article in Asian Perspective that researched China and Russia’s diverging views of the coming world order. In 2011, she published another article in Comparative Strategy on how Chinese and Russian relations changed as a result of the Russian invasion of Georgia. She also published an article in June 2016, in the Strategic Studies Quarterly journal titled “Chinese Nuclear Threat Perceptions.”
Last month, Haynes published her first book titled “Chinese Nuclear Proliferation: How Global Politics Is Transforming China’s Weapons Buildup and Modernization.” Within the book, Haynes analyzes China’s buildup and diversification of increasingly mobile, precise and sophisticated weapons. She provides context and clarity on this complex global issue through an analysis of extensive primary source research.
“I started writing this book in 2011, and it is based off of Chinese journal articles, news reports and notes from Chinese conferences,” said Haynes. “It lends a glimpse into why China is growing their nuclear arsenal and modernizing it, what their motivations are and provides policy prescriptions for the US response.”
For more information about Lipscomb’s Department of History, Politics and Philosophy, housed in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, visit: www.lipscomb.edu/arts-sciences.