SOS1150 Social work - life course and everyday life Course description

The course is organised around three principal themes: Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies, Conflict Resolution and Peace building and Peace and Conflict in South Asia. Each of these parts will be covered by ten sets of two-hour lectures. An introduction to research methodology and academic writing is part of the course.

1. Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies (equivalent to 9 credits)

The introduction presents an overview of the field of peace and conflict studies, from its early beginnings towards its contemporary understandings. The literature, lectures and seminars will discuss traditional and modern understandings of peace and conflict as well as related themes (i.e. gender, war, terrorism, human rights, development, security, non-violence); and further discuss them in perspective to other existing theories and readings in the field. The students will acquire a general overview of the field of peace and conflict studies, its multi-disciplinary avenues, as well as about recent developments within the field itself.

Introduction to the concepts of Peace, Violence and Conflict

The introduction to the course investigates the field of peace and conflict studies and its multi-disciplinary approach and the meaning of peace as one of the main subjects within the field. Concepts of violence and various forms of violence are presented. While looking at perspectives of organised violence, the causes of wars and violent conflicts are further examined and discussed; in particular through examining trends and causes of armed conflict as well as possible mechanisms of prevention. Further an overview of understandings of conflict and war are explored historically as well as through presenting notions of -old wars- and -new wars-. These lectures are concerned with answering the seemingly simple but actually quite complex question: Why do violent conflicts occur? They do so by considering the reasons for war and violent conflicts in a series of ever-increasing levels of complexity and social causation.

Building Negative and Positive Peace

Peace and Conflict Studies differs from traditional approaches of social sciences, political science and international relations in several ways, one of which is that it concerns itself not only with the prevention and ending of war (negative peace), but also with the articulation of desirable outcomes (positive peace).

Through exploring various meanings of peace the second half of the lectures presents peace and conflict studies through the concepts of negative and further positive peace. Having surveyed the causes of wars, from traditional to modern understandings, we next move to the question of achieving peace via international organisations (including but not limited to the UN) and international law. The lectures also debate in general the relationship between human rights and peace, and in particular try to analyse the paradigm shift from state security to human security.

The concept of positive peace is presented in four lectures. We start the first lecture by examining the concept of positive peace, followed by assessing the role of peace movements, both in history and in current practice. Accordingly, the concluding lectures in this section will deal with issues on gender and war, development strategies, social justice, as well as on aspects of environmental sustainability and ecological justice. We conclude the introduction part with a concluding discussion on a culture of peace, and on non-violence as a strategic and tactical tool, but also as a way of life.

2. Conflict Resolution and Peace building (equivalent to 9 credits)

This part gives the students an understanding of the foundations for - and the conceptual differences between - conflict resolution and conflict transformation, the different instruments at work in processes of both, and the various contexts in which these processes operate. In addition, it provides an introduction to the concept of peace building, its history and challenges, as well as a discussion on its political and ethical dimensions.

Conflict Resolution and Conflict Transformation

The section begins with a focus on conflict resolution and conflict transformation, the definitions, foundations and theoretical approaches. Different instruments for conflict resolution and conflict transformation are next introduced, such as track I, II and III negotiations, involving respectively the main conflicting parties; NGOs and individuals from civil society; the grassroots, and local communities. An important focus here is the role of third parties, negotiators and/or mediators. The course further seeks to establish the main differences between challenges of conflict resolution in civil wars and conflict resolution in wars between states. Next, the role of the UN in conflict resolution is discussed, as well as the role of gender. The first part of the lecture series ends with examining aspects of culture, religion and nonviolence in conflict resolution and conflict transformation.

Peace Building

Peace building has a much wider focus than conflict resolution. The second part of this section is dedicated to clarifying the difference between conflict resolution, which generally tends to be actor-focused, and peace building, which is both actor-focused and has more of a structural approach. This is done by diving deeply into the different dimensions of peace building. Accordingly, the challenges of post-conflict peace building are assessed through looking at security dimensions, socio-economic dimensions, political dimensions and reconciliation processes. Through the work with these different dimensions the students will learn about the usefulness of peace building along a continuum - in preventing armed conflict from recurring, in supporting on-going peace processes, and in contributing to post-conflict reconstruction.

We end this part with addressing some important questions on -political and ethical intervention from above- in conflicts and on the agenda of -Liberal Peace building-.

3. Peace and Conflict in South Asia (equivalent to 9 credits)

The lectures of this part explore various aspects of conflict and peace in South Asia. We begin with an overview of recent South Asian history, and especially the history of post-colonial countries in the region. The contemporary situation is presented within this context, especially looking at communalism in India. We continue with exploring the contemporary social, political and economic conflicts in the region, exemplifying them through specific case studies of Dalits, Adivasis and Naxalites in India.

We then look at the complexity and the role of the state in religious-political conflicts in Pakistan and India. Further, the complexity of the role of an -International Community- is analysed through looking at the impact of post war reconstruction as well as International Aid in Afghanistan.

Next, the dynamics of the conflict and peace process in Nepal are examined. Nepal provides an interesting case study for understanding the complex social and political conditions of post-conflict society and the various efforts of peace building - local as well as international. Further we will look into the conflict and peace process in Sri Lanka. Here the role of Norway as a peace facilitator with reference to the peace process in Sri Lanka is discussed, looking at its various successes and failures.

Having formed an understanding of the various complexities of conflict in South Asia, the lectures look into the specific case study of Kashmir, as a conflict between India and Pakistan.

Nuclear weapons, international nuclearisation and nuclear deterrence are also addressed through a contemporary case study of India and Pakistan. Further, the connection between forced migration and conflict is presented with case studies from South Asian countries, directing our attention towards questions concerning refugee protection, security and peace.

Lastly, the understandings of peace and non-violence are explored through the case studies of Gandhi-s non-violence (Hinduism) and Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Islam). This places peace in the South Asian context, preparing us especially for a multiple of views on and within religions.

The South Asia region represents a wide range of topics of relevance to peace and conflict studies, all of which cannot be covered by the lectures and readings of this part. The students should therefore complement the readings with their own material on themes of specific interest. The 200 pages of the student-s own choice can very well be used for this purpose. Among the topics mentioned in the course that can be further investigated are:

• The relationship between human rights, development and peace in South Asia
• International war and the atomic threat in Kashmir
• Civil war and peace processes in Sri Lanka and Nepal
• Civil war, international intervention, peace building, insurgency and terrorism in Afghanistan
• South Asian history of war and peace
• Conflicts of caste, class, ethnicity, religion and politics in contemporary India and Pakistan
• Gandhi and Indian post-colonial philosophy of peace and war
• Ethics of war and peace in Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Christianity
• Nationalism and post-colonial nation building
• Independence movements and anti-colonialism in South Asia

Methodology (equivalent to 3 credits)

Students will be familiarized with basic concepts of academic research and methodology (incl. peace research, data collection, field work, content and material analysis) oriented towards their group paper work tasks. Students will get clear information on how to write an academic paper (i.e. structure, content, context, format) and how to implement theoretical and empirical findings in their writing.

None.

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has:

• knowledge of social science theories on how to understand human development from childhood to old age 
• knowledge of how social challenges interact and affect the individual’s quality of life in different phases of and transitions in life 
• knowledge of how social structures and social conditions impact the conditions for upbringing and living conditions in general
• knowledge of protection and risk factors as a basis for implementing preventive measures against marginalisation and exclusion in different arenas 

Skills

The student can

• identify, prevent and remedy social challenges relating to different phases of life
• identify and assess resources in the life situations of different groups of people and help to strengthen people’s coping strategies in demanding life situations

General competence

The student:

• can disseminate knowledge of the link between different everyday social problems in different phases of life 
• has insight into how marginalisation and discrimination affect people’s social life and health

Teaching methods vary between lectures and student-active learning methods. Digital learning methods are included in teaching. Self-study is required between each teaching session in the course.  

No coursework requirements/compulsory activities.

An individual written home exam over 48 hours. The answer paper should be 7-9 pages long. Font and font size: Calibri 12-point. Line spacing 1.5. The approved citation style APA for assignments must be complied with.

Candidates who fail or who were absent from the ordinary exam for a valid reason can take a resit/rescheduled exam.

All aids are permitted as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

Grade scale A-F.

The exam papers are assessed by one internal and one external examiner. At least 25% of the exam papers will be assessed by two examiners. The grades awarded for the papers assessed by two examiners form the basis for determining the level for all the exam papers.

Stine Harstad