autumn 2017 SVF-3022 Culture, Conflict and Society - 10 ECTS
Course content
The course enables students to critically analyse and evaluate the relevance of contextual cultural and societal issues in efforts at understanding violent conflicts and peace-building. It applies perspectives from anthropology, religious studies and psychology to conflicts, peace and conflict transformation. It represents an attempt to conceptualise violent conflicts and related issues as inter-subjective experiences with cultural and psychological dimensions.
The topics addressed include: Anthropological perspectives on culture and conflict; Anthropology of difference and images of the other; Ethnicity, nationalism and conflict; Psychology, health, war and peace; and symbolic meanings and cosmologies.
Objectives of the course
Students who have successfully completed the course should have the following learning outcomes:
Knowledge
- have an understanding of diverse perspectives from anthropology, religious studies and psychology and how they relate to conflicts, peace and conflict transformation
- have a conceptual understanding of violent conflicts and related issues as inter-subjective experiences with cultural and psychological dimensions.
Analytical understanding
- have the ability to explore the cultural and societal issues underlying violent conflicts and peace processes
- have the ability to determine how different cultural groups conceptualize and respond to violence
- have the ability to explore the broad issues informing inter-subjective and inter/intra-group experiences in violent conflict situations.
Skills and competences
- capable of relating perspectives from anthropology, psychology, religious studies and psychology to conflicts and peace processes
- capable of bringing inter-cultural understandings to bear on violent conflicts and peace-building processes
- capable of taking responsibility for one's own learning by working independently towards the realisation of the course objectives.
Assessment
Candidates will write a home examination of 4000 words (approx. 10 pages) within a week on a set of given topics.
Grading is on the scale of A to F, where F is Fail.
Towards the end of the course, the students will be divided into pairs to make oral presentations (max 10 minutes) on a topic related to cultural, religious or psychological issues in their home countries or a chosen country/region vis-à-vis practices in other contexts. These presentations shall draw upon the course readings.
A re-sit exam will be arranged for this course.
Error rendering component
- About the course
- Campus: Tromsø |
- ECTS: 10
- Course code: SVF-3022
- Responsible unit
- Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education