Seminar “Mediterranean Feuding Societies: A Sociological Perspective”

On 24 March, at 5 pm, via Zoom, will take place the seminar “Mediaterranean Feuding Societies: a sociological perspective”, with Fatos Tarifa.

The seminar will provide sociological explanations of how revenge for personal honour moved from sporadic, insignificant and inconsiderate behaviour to deliberate, predictable and norm-driven behaviour, universally shared and sustained in various Mediterranean societies. Fatos Tarifa will examine different ancient and recent interpretations of revenge practised in Northern Albania and other Mediterranean societies in this seminar. He considers them essentially inadequate since they separate revenge from any historical, economic and cultural context. He thinks that the functionalist theory is a reasonable frame of reference – or at least a valuable intellectual exercise – to approach the institution of blood vengeance, thus pointing in a direction in which a better understanding of revenge – and probably a more informed and complex explanation – can be found.

Fatos Tarifa, formerly the Rector of the University of New York Tirana, is currently a Research Professor of Sociology and International Relations at the European University of Tirana, Albania.
He has a double doctorate, with a PhD in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA), and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Tirana.
He has held a number of academic positions at various institutions of higher education in Europe and North America, including the Institute of Social Studies at The Hague, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campbell University, Webster University, and Eastern Michigan University.
Tarifa has been inter alia a visiting or guest scholar at various reputable universities.
His expertise is primarily in the areas of sociology and globalization. He is the author, co-author or editor of 55 books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.
He is currently the President of the Albanian Academy of Arts of Sciences, and recipient of several grants, honours and international awards.

[Posted: 18-03-2022]