"This seminar is designed to provide an in-depth examination of certain key aspects of contemporary terrorism, and is specifically intended for graduate students who have already taken lecture-oriented undergraduate or graduate courses dealing with terrorism. The class will be divided into three separate portions. During the first portion, after a session devoted to the provision of basic information about terrorism and terrorism research methods, everyone in the class will read chapters from a series of important recent books that deal with apocalyptic millenarian groups and their objectives. Given the fact that groups of this type have periodically carried out serious acts of violence, either against “evil” outsiders or their own members, it is necessary for students interested in terrorism to obtain some knowledge about their characteristics. During the second portion of the course, students will spend their time working independently on the individual research topics they have selected, which can deal with any aspect of terrorism that interests them. During the third and final portion, each student will give an oral report in class to present and analyze his or her research findings, which will then be discussed by the entire class. Near the end of this last portion of the class, if not earlier, students must submit their completed research papers."