POLS 257/IDST – Peace Studies
| Pablo Toral |
| Fall 2006, MW 2:00-3:50 PM |
| Room MI 107 |
| Phone: x2166 |
| Email: toralp@beloit.edu |
Office hours: MI 112A, MWF, 10:00-11:00AM
by appointment or when you catch me in my office. |
Course description
By bringing together perspectives from different fields, including anthropology, psychology, philosophy and political science, among others, we study different approaches to peace. The students will learn to combine the tools developed in these fields to approach the subject in a comprehensive manner. A core component of the course is an understanding and application of techniques of conflict resolution.
Aims and purposes
Peace studies is a recognized academic field, including its own undergraduate and graduate programs. In this course we analyze many of its subfields. Students will learn about the causes of conflict, as well as strategies to eliminate conflict or prevent escalation. We study both group violence and individual violence. In the first section we analyze the causes of war and conflict. Then we study the causes of peace. In the third section we study some societies that have been able to eliminate or minimize intra-group and inter-group violence. In the last three sections, we study the concepts of peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, the conditions under which they apply, and the actors involved.
Course goals/objectives/outcomes:
Students will develop an appreciation for how methodological, ontological and epistemological boundaries can limit our understanding of peace. We will integrate perspectives from anthropology, philosophy, religious studies, history, political science, conflict resolution and international relations and learn to use tools developed in these fields for conflict resolution. Students will learn the difference between physical violence and structural violence, as well as negative peace and positive peace. Students will learn from peaceful societies around the world how they have been able to avoid violence as well as to learn about various peacekeeping, peacemaking and peacebuilding strategies, including intervention, negotiation and mediation among others.
Course readings
The following texts are on reserve in the library.
Carson, Clayborne, ed., The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. New York, Intellectual Properties Management, Inc. in association with Warner Books, 1998 (0446676500).
Crocker, Chester A., Fen Osler Hampson and Pamela Aall (eds.), Turbulent Peace. The Challenges of Managing International Conflict. Washington, D.C., United States Institute of Peace Press, 2001 (1-929223-27-7).
Goldstein, Joshua S. (2001), War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (0521807166).
Kemp, Graham & Douglas P. Fry (eds.), Keeping the Peace. Conflict Resolution and Peaceful Societies Around the World. New York, Routledge, 2003 (0415947626)
Nader, Laura (1990), Harmony Ideology: Justice and Control in a Zapotec Mountain Village. Stanford, Stanford University Press (0804718091).
Waller, James (2002) Becoming Evil. How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing. Oxford, Oxford University Press (0195148681).
Course Requirements
1st research essay (20%):
In the first part of the semester, we have discussed whether the reasons for peace and conflict apply at the systemic level or at the societal level. What do you think? Briefly review the main arguments and develop your own perspective. Illustrate with a specific case study. (5 pages, double spaced).
2nd essay (20%):
In the second section of the semester, we studied several societies that have been able to reduce or eliminate inter-group violence. How have they been able to develop institutions to resolve their disputes peacefully? Can the US also become a “peaceful society”? Why? Why not? Provide evidence to support your answer. (5 pages, double spaced).
3rd Research Essay (30%):
In the last section of the semester we analyze different strategies for peacemaking, peacebuilding and peacekeeping. Choose a case study to illustrate one of them. For instance, you may evaluate how successful an NGO or an IO have been in a specific case.
Group project (20%):
Is Beloit a peaceful society? Use a case study to illustrate your answer. You may analyze how the community has dealt with a specific conflict, or you may choose a conflict management technique developed by the community (10 pages).
Class attendance and participation (10%).
I expect you to participate in class discussions actively. Learning is not a passive exercise, in which you listen to your professor lecture on a particular topic. I expect you to participate in class discussions by asking questions about the readings, by analyzing the topics critically and by questioning the views of the authors, the professor, and those of your own peers. Critical thinking is an-ongoing process of continuous assessment and reassessment of the dominant views in a field of study. My goal of is to engage everybody in a permanent dialogue with the readings and with each other. I value the quality of your comments. Do not just repeat what has been said in class. Provide an analysis of the readings. I will also ask you to give presentations in class, in which you will analyze the readings critically. I will also expect you to participate in online debates. We will be using moodle on a regular basis for submissions and debates. Take some time to familiarize yourself with moodle.
Grading policy.
Your grades will be a reflection of your ability to develop original arguments. I expect you to be able to understand the material that we study in class, analyze it critically, and develop original views, by building upon the ideas of the authors discussed in class or by rejecting them.
A - An original essay. The students’ arguments are supported by references to the reading assignments and class discussions, as well as by additional research. The paper has a clear focus, is well written, and has a good structure. It is rooted in one or some of the main debates in the field, provides a new and original approach and has enough evidence to support the student’s claims.
B - The paper addresses an original argument. It shows a good understanding of the main debates in the discipline and is based on a clear understanding of the reading material. It is supported by original research, but fails to make a compelling argument for lack of evidence or poor structure.
C - The student does not develop an original argument but shows a good understanding of the reading assignments and the discussions.
D - The student does not develop original ideas well and only shows a partial understanding of the reading material.
F - No original argument and poor understanding of the reading material. Use of poor or no bibliographic references (this is normally the main reason to fail an assignment). Plagiarism (to appropriate for use as one's own passages or ideas from another).
Late assignments.
I will accept assignments up to a week after the deadline, but the grade will fall by half a letter grade each day.
If you need help with your research in the library, try the “Ask a Librarian” link on the library home page, http://www.beloit.edu/~libhome or contact Chris Nelson at ext. 2544 or via email at nelsoncn@beloit.edu.
If you have a disability and would like to speak to someone about possible accommodations, please visit the LSSC (Learning Support Services Center) located on the first floor of 635 College St. You will need to provide appropriate documentation of your disability to Diane Arnzen, Director of the LSSC (arnzend@beloit.edu). If you wish to receive accommodations in my class please provide me the LSSC Accommodation Verification Letter dated for this semester as soon as possible so your learning needs may be appropriately met.
Free individual peer tutoring is available for most courses through the Learning Supports Services Center, 635 College Street, X 2572. Professors recommend all tutors who are then trained by the LSSC staff. Contact the LSSC to find out more.
Course Outline
| Week 1 Introduction, Aug. 30 |
| Week 2 Why violence? Why evil? Sept. 4-6 |
| Waller |
| Week 3 Why war? Sept. 11-13 |
| Crocker & Osler, pp. 1-38 |
| Week 4 Systemic sources: Is conflict beyond our control?, Sept. 18-20 |
| (Crocker & Osler), 39-112; Lenin, “Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism” (library reserve in Richard Betts, Conflict after the Cold War, pp. 242-248) |
| Week 5 States and societies: Is conflict the result of our social values, rules and institutions?, Sept. 25-27 |
| Crocker & Osler, 113-188 |
| Week 6 States and societies: Can we organize our societies for peace?, Oct. 1-3 |
| Kemp and Fry |
| First research essay due on Tuesday @ 9:00AM |
| Week 7 Case study: the Talean society, Oct. 9-11 |
| Nader |
| Week 8 Human agency: Can we make a difference?, Oct. 23-25 |
| Crocker & Osler, 189-226 |
| 2nd essay due on Friday @ 9:00AM |
| Week 9 Case study: Ghandi and MLK, Oct. 30-Nov. 1 |
| Carson |
| Week 10 Does gender make a difference?, Nov. 6-8 |
| Goldstein |
| No class on Wednesday. |
| Week 11 Interventions, Nov. 13-15 |
| Crocker & Osler, 265-383 |
| First draft of group project due on Friday @ 9:00AM |
| Week 12 Negotiation and Mediation, Nov. 20-22 |
| Crocker & Osler, 387-513 |
| Week 13 The role of international organizations, Nov. 27-29 |
| Crocker & Osler, 517-602 |
| Group project due on Friday @ 9:00AM |
| Week 14 The role of non-state actors, Dec. 4-6 |
| Crocker & Osler, 603-693 |
| Research essay due on Friday @ 9:00AM |
| Week 15 Post-conflict transformation, Dec. 11-13 |
| Crocker & Osler, 697-854 |
Congratulations! You made it!
