IR5705 Critical Approaches to Peacebuilding

Academic year

2024 to 2025 Semester 1

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 11

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

Enrollment is limited to students on the MLitt or MPhil in Peacebuilding and Mediation

Planned timetable

Tuesdays 10.00am -12.00noon

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr K C M Hunfeld

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Katharina Hunfeld

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module analyzes critical approaches to peacebuilding. Key questions include: What are the meanings of peace, and how might the study of peacebuilding differ from the study of violence? Who are the key actors involved in the process of making peace? What are the sites and settings of peacebuilding, and over what time horizons must we orient our attention towards them in order to fully understand experiences of peace? And how do different meanings and manifestations of power and politics inflect the texture of peace? Based on a range of interdisciplinary texts and multimedia, students will apply these questions to case studies that draw together insights from peacebuilding efforts worldwide.

Relationship to other modules

Co-requisites

YOU MUST ALSO TAKE IR5704

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

3-hour Written Examination =100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

Weekly two-hour seminar (x 10 weeks), one-time required two-hour writing workshop, one-time required three-hour workshop on peace processes

Scheduled learning hours

53

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

241

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Analyze the meanings of peace and trace how those meanings have evolved across theoretical, spatial, and temporal contexts
  • Critically engage with the framing of 'the local', 'civil society', and community-led approaches to peace
  • Adopt an intersectional lens to the lasting legacies of violence and the power dynamics of peacebuilding
  • Understand not only how peace is theorized, but also felt and imagined beyond and outside the academy
  • Articulate what critical approaches to peacebuilding propose, not only oppose, with regard to the making of peace
  • Identify the dilemmas peacebuilding institutions may face when confronting or challenging power dynamics, as well as the strategies peacebuilding professionals can use to respond to these dilemmas