Michael Blain
Professor
Vita
Michael Blain earned a Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Colorado. His dissertation described how revolutionaries employ language to legitimate acts of revolutionary violence (The Politics of Death, available from amazon.com). He has published many papers on how discourse functions in politics, most notably "The Role of Death in Political Conflict" (Psychoanalytic Review), "Fighting Words: What We Can Learn From Hitler's Hyperbole" (Symbolic Interaction), "Power, War and Melodrama in the Discourses of Political Movements" (Theory and Society), "The Politics of Victimage" (Critical Discourse Studies), and "On the Genealogy of Terrorism" (Interrogating the War on Terrorism). A compilation of his articles on political violence has been published; The Sociology of Terrorism: Studies in Power, Subjection, and Victimage Ritual (available from amazon.com).
Blain has engaged in policy research in Idaho. As a member of the steering committee of the Snake River Alliance (1980-89), Blain produced two influential reports on cancer in populations adjacent to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (with Carl Johnson, M.D.) and Hanford Nuclear Reservation. He also coauthored (with Charles Etlinger) a series on Idaho’s power structure in The Idaho Statesman.
Blain served four terms as Chair of the Department of Sociology. He also served as the Northern Representative to the Council of the Pacific Sociological Association. He teaches courses on Contemporary Social Theory, Research Methods, Drugs, Violence, and Peace and War.
Contact Information
Office: L-171d
Phone: 208/426-1346
Email: mblain@boisestate.edu
| Course Title | Course Number |
|---|---|
| Introduction to Sociology | 101 |
| Sociological Theory II | 302 |
| Social Research | 311 |
| Drugs in Societal Context | 435 / 535 |
| Sociology/Social Science Seminar | 498 |