Understanding Violence

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/violence

Introduction

### Course Review: Understanding Violence As our society grapples with the pervasive nature of violence, the Coursera course titled **Understanding Violence** emerges as a timely and essential exploration of this multifaceted issue. This course delves into the complexities of violence—a leading cause of death, disability, and a significant contributor to global healthcare utilization. By integrating multidisciplinary perspectives, **Understanding Violence** equips learners with critical insights into the causes, impacts, and solutions to violence across various contexts. #### Course Overview The course begins with a foundational understanding of violence, tackling the challenges in its identification and measurement. With a blend of statistical data and expert insights, the course provides a comprehensive overview of violence both in the U.S. and globally. The ultimate goal is to foster a deep understanding of violence as not just a personal issue but a societal challenge that requires collective action. #### Syllabus Highlights 1. **Overview of Violence:** The course kicks off by defining violence and contextualizing its prevalence. Participants engage with real-world data on violence rates, setting the stage for more detailed discussions. 2. **Types of Violence:** This section familiarizes learners with various forms of violence, including intimate partner violence, suicide, youth violence, and more. Engaging video content ensures that participants can understand the nuances and specificities associated with different types of violence. 3. **Biological, Social, & Psychological Contributors:** Here, the course delves into the environmental, genetic, and psychological factors contributing to violence. By examining theories related to substance use and religious perspectives, participants gain a holistic view of the roots of violent behaviors. 4. **Consequences of Violence:** This module addresses the profound psychological, social, and economic impacts of violence. The focus on PTSD, depression, and longer-term societal consequences makes this segment particularly poignant, emphasizing that the effects of violence extend beyond immediate victims. 5. **Media Portrayal of Violence:** An intriguing component, this module critiques how violence is depicted in films and news. The exploration of desensitization and narrative framing invites learners to reflect on the broader cultural implications of media portrayals of violence. 6. **Controlling Violence:** The course concludes with an examination of violence prevention strategies. By comparing primary and secondary prevention programs, participants learn about the effective elements of violence control and the roles of public health and justice systems. #### Recommendations **Understanding Violence** is an excellent recommendation for anyone interested in social sciences, public health, criminal justice, psychology, or sociology. It is especially beneficial for professionals working in healthcare, education, law enforcement, and community service sectors, as it fosters a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and solutions associated with violence. The course's multidisciplinary approach, rich content, and engaging format make it suitable not only for advanced students but for anyone drawn to understanding the complexities of violence in our world. #### Conclusion In a time when violence remains a critical issue globally, **Understanding Violence** stands out as a must-take course for anyone committed to making a difference. With compassionate engagement and evidence-based discussions, learners will not only gain knowledge but also be inspired to contribute to efforts aimed at reducing violence in real-world contexts. Enroll in this course through Coursera and embark on a meaningful journey toward understanding and combating violence.

Syllabus

Overview of Violence

We begin the course by defining violence and discussing why violence can be difficult to identify and measure. We will review the rates of violence in the U.S. and globally.

The following videos will help learners become familiar with specific types of violence, including intimate partner violence, suicide, sexual violence, youth violence including cyber-bullying, child maltreatment, elder maltreatment, and gang violence.

In this module we identify what environmental features increase likelihood for violence in individuals and take a look at the associations with substance use and violence. Learners have a chance to review theories around biological and genetic predispositions and responses to violence. Finally, we examine religious perspectives and issues around violence.

We begin this module reviewing the psychological effects of violence including PTSD, depression, and suicidality. Then we assess the economic impact of violence and injuries. We will explore violence in relation to the criminal justice system, and recognize the long-term impact of sexual violence in wartime.

In this module we explore how violence is represented in films in terms of character and narrative and we consider how violence is reported in the news, specifically discussing desensitization.

We close this course comparing different types of violence prevention programs (primary vs. secondary; public health vs. criminal justice) and identifying key elements of successful violence prevention programs.