This cluster explores the phenomena of war and peace at the local, national, and international levels. It examines these concepts to address what we mean by “war” and “peace” and how they relate to one another. In addition, the cluster examines, from a range of disciplinary perspectives, why wars happen, how they develop, and how they affect individuals and societies.
This cluster will be offered throughout 2020-22.
Instructor: David Cunningham
Is the world getting more peaceful? There are currently civil wars raging in much of the world and millions of people have fled these wars as refugees or internally displaced persons. Terrorist attacks kill thousands, and can occur in any corner of the planet. At the same time many actors use strategies such as peacekeeping, mediation, promotion of human rights and post-conflict justice to resolve conflicts and build peace.
In this course, we will examine conflict, peace, and conflict resolution in contemporary international politics. We will interrogate concepts such as peace, conflict, and violence, the different forms that these phenomena can take, and how we can measure their occurrence. We will discuss theoretical explanations for why individuals and groups have disputes and why these actors choose to use violence (or not) in these disputes and examine these arguments in specific cases. We will analyze conflict resolution strategies such as mediation, peacekeeping, and human rights promotion both theoretically and empirically. This discussion will allow students to develop an argument for whether the world is getting more peaceful, why it is or is not, and what this could mean about the future of violence and peace.
GenEd: DSHS, SCIS
Offered in: Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022
Required/Optional: Required
Instructor: Dorith Grant-Wisdom
Who are pirates and what constitutes piracy in a given era? To what extent do changing notions of piracy reflect major societal transformations at the national, regional and global levels, as well as reveal the contested and often overlapping boundaries of war and peace? How can we use pirates/piracy as a “tool” to engender an historical, economic, political, social, and cultural understanding of global forces and change? Do the legends and myths surrounding infamous pirates represent the realities and relationships of early and new forms of piracy? Could piracy be conceived as a form of counterculture? To what extent do piracy, rivalry, state building, war-making, peace-making all belong on the same continuum? This course examines pirates/piracy as an integral part of major global processes. We will investigate when and why piracy emerged and flourished, and how lawbreakers and lawmakers relate to one another on the murky terrains of power, then explore alternative ways to (re)configure who is a pirate and what constitutes piracy, especially within the dynamics of neo-liberalism and globalization today.
GenEd: DSHS, DVUP
Offered in: Fall 2020
Required/Optional: Optional
Instructor: Hoda Mahmoudi
What is prejudice? How are our prejudices formed? What similarities and differences are there between various forms of prejudice across race, gender, nationality, politics, religion, among others? What is the relationship between prejudice and conflict? What is the role of prejudice in thinking about issues of peace and justice? How can we better understand the role that prejudice and discrimination have in a globalizing world? What can we learn from a scientific basis of knowledge about the causes of prejudice? This course will survey interdisciplinary scholarly research and popular cultural conversations about the root causes of prejudice and discrimination. You are expected to examine empirical evidence toward formulating your own views about the impact that all forms of prejudice impose on the human condition and the role it has played in your own life. Based on research evidence, the course encourages the search for solutions to the blight of prejudice.
GenEd: DSHU
Offered in: Spring 2021, Fall 2021
Required/Optional: Optional
