HS 311F — Everyday Peace Indicators

How can we ‘capture’ and accurately convey peace and conflict? This module will investigate these issues – ethical, methodological and practical – in relation to contemporary peace and conflict. It will examine various attempts to ‘capture’ peace and conflict, paying particular attention to top-down and bottom-up methodologies and the different approaches that they use. The module will include a training on the Everyday Peace Indicator steps, as well as experiential exercises in its use in a simulated exercise. If possible, students will be engaged in ongoing research projects with International Peacebuilding partners. This module will be delivered in a seminar style – that is, it will be participatory, experiential and skills based, demonstrating theory-practice links. During the module students will
be given mini-lectures, briefings and be expected to participate in small group work and presentations. Part of the course’s aims is for students to be able to understand the complexity behind measurement of peace related phenomena, understand how to best circumvent these issues, identify what instances to use certain measurement tools and discern a text’s – or indeed their own and each others’ (including those of the teaching faculty) – ideological or political bias. Usually offered every year.
Pamina Firchow