This seminar is designed to introduce students to the study of political violence in Africa. The course specifically examines domestic or intra-state manifestations of violence through a variety of theoretical and empirical approaches. Over the course of the semester, we will see that violence is not something endemic to the continent; instead, we will investigate violence as the outcome of political and economic conditions and processes. To do so, we will consider specific events in African countries while also using social science concepts and methods to examine and explain broad patterns across the continent. In conducting this exploration, we will primarily rely on and build upon the work of political scientists, but will also draw on the contributions of journalists, anthropologists, psychologists, economists, and historians.