Course Title: Peacebuilding and Reconciliation

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Peacebuilding and Reconciliation

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

POLI1114

City Campus

Postgraduate

365H Global, Urban and Social Studies

Face-to-Face or Internet

Sem 1 2020,
Sem 1 2022

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Damian Grenfell

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 3462

Course Coordinator Email: damian.grenfell@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 37.05.32A

Course Coordinator Availability: by appointment


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None


Course Description

Over the last three decades there has been a fundamental change in how peace is approached by the international community as it has been both integrated into humanitarian and development practice in wide-ranging ways. The new imperative for peace has been driven by new political and economic agendas, human rights objectives, and an understanding of how peace intersects with development, security, governance and gender equity. Even with this renewed importance, peace remains a basic hope for millions of people around the globe as they seek to escape protracted violence, social upheaval and war.   

This course is designed to equip you with knowledge relating to the complexities of peace-building and conflict resolution in the context of protracted and deeply violent conflicts.  Critically engaging with a range of key terms and concepts, you will learn via a combination of having access to theoretical debates, engagement with relevant literature, via examining case-studies from around the world as well as from your own experiences.  Through this you will learn to deploy different techniques used to rebuild communities in conflict and post-conflict settings. 

Some of the key arguments explored through the course include that:  

  • peace-building is not politically neutral and needs to be understood in relation to power  
  • peace is multi-dimensional and multi-faceted 
  • the dominant framing of contemporary peace-building tends to be ideologically grounded and can, at times, undermine opportunities for peace or even give rise to the possibility of new forms of violence.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Course Learning Outcomes 


 

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:    

  1. Diagnose conflict and post-conflict situations and dynamics and articulate potential initiatives for effective action  
  2. Differentiate and appraise policies and programs that make meaningful contributions to strengthening of communities that have experienced the impacts of conflict  
  3. Deploy analytical skills so as to identify relevant goals in the immediate and long-term planning aimed at reducing violence and conflict.  
  4. Critically appraise how peace-building and reconciliation initiatives integrate into broader development, humanitarian and security interventions


Overview of Learning Activities

You will be engaged in learning that involves face to face and online activities such as lectures and workshops. The workshops will be activity-based, including role plays, scenarios, debates and class presentations Workshop activities will intersect with the course readings


Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems. A list of recommended learning resources will be provided by your lecturer, including books, journal articles and web resources. You will also be expected to seek further resources relevant to the focus of your own learning. 

There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The University Library has extensive resources for International Development and International Studies students. Please see International Development and International Studies Library Guides. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services.  For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal


Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes and on your development against the program learning outcomes.

Assessment Tasks 

Assessment Task 1: Participation and Collaboration 20% CLO 1,2,3,4

Assessment Task 2: Written Task, 10% CLO 1,2

Assessment Task 3: Essay, 30%, CLO 2,3,4

Assessment Task 4: Report, 40%, CLO 1,2,3,4

Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more. 

Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions