Whether in wars, the persecution of minorities, inter-group conflicts or the repression of protests, whether in the public sphere, domestic space, artistic production or the media, violence is an integral part of life in society and the human experience. Yet it is constantly being questioned, contested and redefined, to include its symbolic and structural, economic and psychic, gender and state dimensions. The lecture will begin by examining the reasons why the social sciences have come so late to study it, the particular difficulties of understanding it, the myths and stories of its origins, and the theories proposing its genealogy. The seminar will then address the questions raised by its writing, its representations, its qualifications, and the ways in which it is attested or denied. The seminar will include other historical, sociological and anthropological perspectives.