Course syllabus autumn 2021
Course syllabus autumn 2021
Title
Project Management and Methods in Zones of Conflict
Swedish title
Project Management and Methods in Zones of Conflict
Course code
FK202L
Credits
15 credits
Grading scale
UA / Excellent (A), Very Good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Pass (E) or Fail (U)
Language of instruction
English
Decision-making body
Faculty of Culture and Society
Syllabus approval date
2021-06-16
Syllabus valid from
2021-08-30
Entry requirements
Prerequisite courses for this course are: FK101E Peace and Conflict Studies I (passed) and FK102E Peace and Conflict Studies II (passed) [or FK101L Peace and Conflict Studies I (passed) and FK102L Peace and Conflict Studies II (passed)]
Level
Basic level
No main field.
Progression level
G2F
Progression level in relation to degree requirements
The course can normally be included as a part of a general degree at undergraduate level.
Course objectives
The aim of this course, which is a continuation course in the multidisciplinary subject of Peace and Conflict Studies, is to give students both theoretical understanding and professional skills that will enhance their employability.
Course contents
The course equips students with knowledge and skills that will enable their practical engagement in various projects within conflict resolution, peace building, development and aid. Cases of concrete projects of, NGOs and INGOs are discussed and scrutinized. The course consists of two modules: Project management, implementation and evaluation (7.5hec), Conflict complexity: Analysis of conflict dynamics and actors (7.5hec)
Project management, implementation and evaluation (7.5hec)
The module focuses on the practicalities concerning project management in the field of conflict resolution and prevention, development and aid, such as project planning, budget making, fund raising, project management, public relations, as well as post-project evaluations.
Conflict complexity: Analysis of conflict dynamics and actors (7.5hec)
In this course students will individually conduct conflict analyses in which the complexity of conflict/war is examined, and in which the role of civil society will be considered specifically, among other things through critical scrutiny and evaluation of civil society actors. The course aims at broadening and deepening the student’s capacity to analyse the complexity of conflicts.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
After finishing the course, the student
• can demonstrate an understanding of civil society actors’ project-work relating to peace and conflict studies;
• can demonstrate in-depth understanding of the management and implementation of projects in the field
Applying knowledge and understanding
After finishing the course, the student:
• can demonstrate the ability to independently propose and plan projects relevant to civil society actors engaged in issues concerning peace and conflict;
• can demonstrate the ability to within given time frames carry out a task that is of relevance for project management
Making judgments and communication skills
After finishing the course, the students:
• can show the specialised ability to independently analyse and critically reflect upon project management, implementation and evaluation relevant to peace and conflict studies
• has the specialised ability to independently evaluate own knowledge in relation to the project-work taken up in the course, and identify the need for acquiring further competence within the subject.
Learning activities
Lectures, seminars, oral presentations, data processing, budget making, fund raising, report writing.
A student who has not finished the project work during the course, or has not received a passing grade on the project work at the end of the course cannot be guaranteed continued supervision.
Assessment
Students’ performance are, in module 1 and 2, examined by means of obligatory written assignments, formal exam, planning and execution of an event, take-home exam in the form of an independent conflict analysis and through seminar presentations.
Further instructions regarding examination as well as grading criteria will be provided at the start of the course.
Students who do not pass the regular course exams have the minimum of two re-sit opportunities. Re-sits follow the same form as the original exam, apart from re-sits for group work, which take the form of individual written and oral assignments.
Course literature and other study material
FK202L Project management and methods in zones of conflict
- Anderson, M. B., 2004, “Experiences with impact assessment: Can we know what good we do?”, Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation
- Atay, A. D., 2017. “A Discussion on the Methodology of Peace Journalism.” The Turkish Online Journal of Design Art and Communication 7(4), Pp 556-565.
- Bargués-Pedreny, P. & Mathieu, X. 2018. “Beyond silence, obstacle and stigma: Revisiting the ‘problem’ of difference in peacebuilding.” Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding 12(3): 283-299.
- Björkdahl, A. & Buckley-Zistel, S. (eds.), 2016. Spatializing peace and conflict: mapping the production of places, sites and scales of violence. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan (chapter 1 — book available as ebook at MAU).
- CDA, 2004, Do No Harm Handbook, Collabortive Learning Projects, Ltd.
- Diehl, P. F. & D. Druckman (2010) Evaluating Peace Operations, Lynne Rienner Publishers (selected chapters)
- Ersoy, M., 2017. ”Implementing Peace Journalism in the Media.” Peace Review, 29(4), 458-466.
- Fuentes Julio, C., & Drumond, P. (Eds.), 2017. Human Rights and Conflict Resolution: Bridging the Theoretical and Practical Divide. Routledge.
- Gordillo, G. 2018. “Terrain as insurgent weapon: An affective geometry of warfare in the mountains of Afghanistan.” Political Geography 64: 53–62.
- Gordon, N..& Ram, M. 2016. “Ethnic cleansing and the formation of settler colonial geographies.” Political Geography 53: 20–29.
- Gusic, I. 2019. “The relational spatiality of the postwar condition: A study of the city of Mitrovica.” Political Geography 71: 47-55
- Lederach, P., 2010 (or later), The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace, Oxford University Press
- Lemay-He´bert, N. 2018. “Living in the yellow zone: The political geography of intervention in Haiti.” Citizenship Studies, 67: 88–99.
- Moyer, B., 1990, “Movement Action Plan (MAP): Strategic Theories for Evaluating, Planning, and Conducting Social Movements”, The Practical Strategist, San Francisco: Social Movement Empowerment Project.
- Rampton, D. & Nadarajah, S. 2017. “A long view of liberal peace and its crisis.” European Journal of International Relations 23(2): 441–465.
- Reychler, L., 2006. “Challenges for peace research,” in International Journal of Peace Studies, 11(1).
- Rodny-Gumede, Y., 2016. “Awareness towards Peace Journalism among Foreign Correspondents in Africa.” Media and Communication, 4(1), Pp 80-93.
- Sabaratnam, M. 2013. “Avatars of Eurocentrism in the critique of the liberal peace.” Security Dialogue 44(3): 259–278.
- Visoka, G. & Richmond, O. 2017. “After liberal peace? From failed state-building to an emancipatory peace in Kosovo.” International Studies Perspectives 18(1): 110–129
Additional journal articles and resources, maximum 500 pages.
Course evaluation
All students are offered an opportunity to give oral or written feedback at the end of the course. A summary of the results will be made available on the school’s web-pages. The students are also given a possibility to offer feedback for each module.