BSc International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response and Spanish

Year of entry: 2024

Course unit details:
Introduction to Conflict Analysis

Course unit fact file
Unit code HCRI10002
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 1
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? Yes

Overview

This module seeks to expose students to the main tools and perspectives that may be used to analyse contemporary conflicts. The module  will critically appraise the main perspectives given for the outbreak and maintenance of violent conflict. Each week would review the utility of a particular conflict analysis lens in relation to examples so that students could build a toolkit of possible explanations for violent conflict. The module will give students the opportunity to discuss and gauge the effectiveness of rival conflict analysis approaches and to engage in in-depth learning on particular conflicts.

Pre/co-requisites

 Year 1, semester 2 core on BSc International Disaster Management and Conflict Response.

Aims

  • Appreciate different perspectives in conflict analysis 
  • Understanding that there is often more than a single cause for conflict 
  • Recognise the potential of synchronicity between case studies and arguments 
  • Understanding the intersection between different causes of conflict

Knowledge and understanding

  • Knowledge of specific case studies (for instance Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Sudan, India or Northern Ireland)
  • Knowledge of specific conflict analysis perspectives (postcolonialism, nationalism, ethnicity, religion, economics, feminism)
  • An understanding of the complexity of conflict analysis

Intellectual skills

  • To encourage intellectual curiosity
  • Deepen critical reasoning 
  • To develop analytical and editorial skills 
  • Appreciate differing theoretical/conceptual perspectives
  • Link theoretical/conceptual material with case study material and to understand the utility of case studies

Practical skills

  • To develop analytical skills by applying them to specific cases 
  • To develop discursive and argumentative skills, both written and oral. 
  • Editorial skills in working to strict word counts.

Transferable skills and personal qualities

  • Working autonomously
  • Respecting different views
  • Giving feedback to others 

Employability skills

Analytical skills
- Editorial and analytical skills - Evidence-led decision-making
Project management
- Putting together and maintaining arguments (useful for a marketing/awareness campaign or business case)
Written communication
- Communication skills - especially in terms of comprehending large amounts of information and drawing reasoned conclusions
Other
- Meeting deadlines - Independence ¿ capacity for self-discipline, motivation and diligence - Self-management ¿ capacity for self-appraisal, reflection and time management - Adaptability ¿ ability to respond positively to changing circumstances - Ethical appreciation ¿ a willingness to ascertain the ethical implications of proposed courses of actions or situations and to take the necessary steps to ensure that result from this analysis

Assessment methods

Assessment Task 

Formative or Summative 

Weighting 

One book review on a prescribed book Summative 40%
One essay from a list provided Summative 60%
Essay plan Formative 0%

Feedback methods

Feedback method

Formative or Summative

Written feedback on assignmentsSummative
Verbal feedback in seminarsFormative

 

Recommended reading

Cheldelin, Sandra I., Druckman, Daniel and Fast, Larissa (2008). Conflict: From Analysis to Intervention. A&C Black.

Enloe, Cynthia (1989). Bananas, Beaches, Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics. University of California Press.

Fanon, Frantz (1995). Wretched of the Earth. Penguin Books.

Jabri, Vivienne (1996). Discourses on Violence: Conflict Analysis Reconsidered. Manchester University Press. Jeong, Ho-Won (2008). Understanding Conflict and Conflict Analysis. (Sage).

Mac Ginty, Roger (2013). Routledge Handbook of Peacebuilding (Routledge).

Ramsbotham, Oliver, Miall, Hugh and Woodhouse, Tom (2011). Contemporary Conflict Resolution. (Polity).

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 22
Seminars 10
Independent study hours
Independent study 168

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Kirsten Howarth Unit coordinator
Kristina Tschunkert Unit coordinator

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