Between 1992 and 1996 there were over 50 arsons targeting Christian churches in Norway. The attacks shocked the country, a small European nation with about the same population as Faisalabad. As it turned out, the attacks were carried out by members of the black metal community, a sub-genre of heavy metal that had been gaining popularity since the late 1980s. But what was it about black metal that had inspired its growing fan base? Social theorists have argued that genres of “extreme music” like heavy metal give not just a sense of community but a voice to those who feel voiceless. So, can heavy metal tell us anything about terrorism? Do they represent incompatible manifestations of different extremist ideologies, or are they worldwide phenomena that unite into communities those who feel disenfranchised and powerless? Can understanding one help us to better frame the other?

Dr. Mulvany received his Ph.D. in 2011 from the Department of South Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He is part of Habib University’s founding faculty. His research and teaching interests now rest in disaster and policy anthropology, the Indian Ocean World, flooding and water development in the global South, and folklore. He is currently preparing a manuscript for publication based on his dissertation research.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at [ Ссылка ]

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