This academic seminar will focus on presenting different narratives and lenses of peace and conflict to the students.
The aim of the seminar is to reflect on some overarching theories of peace and conflict and to critically reflect on how narratives shape our learning process of peace and conflict. It will present concepts such as neo-liberal peace and colonization in order to lean in to other narratives connected to race, gender and de-colonization. It will use real life cases and examples to dig deeper into specific concepts.
The students will be exposed to queer and/or authors of colour from the Global South and the Global North to navigate ideas of a collective peace.
The seminar will also host two guest speakers who will share their diverse experiences and perspectives. In the first week, our Guest Lecturer will reflect on the concept of emancipation through the lens of African literature. In the second week, our Guest Lecturer will reflect on the topic of Gender and peacebuilding and how this is deconstructed theoretically but also in our lives as peace workers.
This course aims to provide the students with an academic framework of peace and conflict studies through the analysis and discussion of texts and videos from diverse authors. It will encourage students to self-reflect on their peace and conflict narratives and how they view the world through a particular lens. Methodologically, the course will combine academic lectures, interactive debates and reflective sharing with time for self-study, reflection and group work. Optional yoga sessions will be weaved into the program.
The post-modern peace and transrational peace families will serve as backdrops in our analysis.
Students will be assessed by a 10-15 page essay which will be due in the second week.