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Placing Terrorism in an Academic and Personal Context: A Case Study of the Oklahoma City Bombing*
Author(s) -
Sloan Stephen
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/ssqu.12253
Subject(s) - terrorism , context (archaeology) , perspective (graphical) , narrative , political science , domestic terrorism , criminology , sociology , public relations , law , history , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , artificial intelligence , computer science
Objective This article reviews the academic research context for terrorism studies before and after the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, from the perspective of a long‐time specialist in the study of terrorism. Method The article combines a personal narrative and an analysis of the broader academic context. Results This first‐hand account details the ways in which research on terrorism emerged in the 1970s in Oklahoma and was shaped by the bombing and its aftermath. Recounting how early research on terrorism was conducted before the widespread use of computers as well as breakthroughs in training tactics provides an understanding of the ways in which the field has evolved.