Political Science 3500: Introduction to Peace Studies
Spring 2014
Tuesday & Thursday, 2-3:20pm.
Wooten Hall 322
Prof. Idean Salehyan
Email:
Phone: (940)565-2317
Office hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 3:30-5pm or by appointment. Wooten Hall 173B.
Teaching Assistant: Michael Marshall ( ). Office hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 1-2pm. Wooten Hall 132.
This course will cover topics relating to peace, conflict, and social justice. Students will gain an understanding of the causes, consequences, and resolution of political violence, both between and within countries. In developing a broader perspective on peace, we will also study issues pertaining to social justice and human rights. Students will develop an appreciation of normative/ethical theories as well as empirical social science research on conflict and peace. This class will prepare students for additional coursework in Peace Studies.
Learning objectives:
-Understand various ethical perspectives on war and peace.
-Understand theories regarding the causes and resolution of international and civil conflict.
-Learn various normative and theoretical perspectives on human rights and social justice movements.
-Develop one’s own perspective on peace and justice issues.
-Provide a foundation for additional coursework in peace and conflict.
The syllabus and course material will be posted on Blackboard (learn.unt.edu).
Reading Materials:
1. Human Security Report 2012. Online: http://www.hsrgroup.org/human-security-reports/2012/text.aspx
2. Jack Donnelly, International Human Rights. 4th edition. (UNT Bookstore)
3. Other readings will be posted on Blackboard (learn.unt.edu), these are marked “WEB” below. Note that the course website will ONLY be used for posting supplemental readings. I will not be communicating with students this way. You can also find many of these readings through scholar.google.com or www.jstor.com.
4. You are expected to follow contemporary news stories on international events related to peace and conflict. Excellent news sources include the New York Times: www.newyorktimes.com and the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/.
Assignments:
Midterm and Final Exams (Midterm 25%, Final 35% of grade). There will be a midterm and a final exam. Both will be taken online and will consist of short answers and essays. The midterm will cover the first half of the class while the final exam will cover material from the entire course. All assignments are checked for plagiarism. ANY cheating or plagiarism (even one sentence!) will result in failure on the exam. Study guides will be distributed before the exams.
Exam Dates:
Midterm Exam, February 27
Final Exam, May 8
Quizzes (20% of grade, 5% each). There will be four quizzes during the semester (dates listed in the class schedule) which focus on the reading assignments. Each quiz is worth 5% of your grade, for a total of 20%. The quizzes will be a combination of multiple choice and short answers and will test your comprehension of the reading assignments. You will be responsible for knowing all of the material for the weeks prior to and including the week of the quiz.
Opinion Essay (10% of grade). At any point in the semester (no later than April 29, but don’t procrastinate!) you are to submit a short 800-1,000 word opinion article, modeled after an ‘op-ed’ piece in a newspaper. Find a current topic in the news that is related to peace, human rights, or social justice, and provide your own commentary on the issue. A good essay will: 1) identify the problem; 2) discuss the relevance of the issue; 3) provide a proposed solution. (For a guide, see: http://newsoffice.duke.edu/duke_resources/oped)
Attendance and Participation (10%). Attendance is taken during randomly selected class sessions. Missing more than one class without a legitimate excuse will harm your grade.
*Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses and will result in, at minimum, failure on the assignment. (UNT Policy on Academic Dishonesty: http://vpaa.unt.edu/academic-integrity.htm)
**It is very unlikely that I will change a grade unless there was a blatant error. If you did poorly on an assignment, I would be happy to discuss ways you can improve next time.
CLASS SCHEDULE
1. COURSE OVERVIEW, WHAT IS PEACE? (January 14)
· Galtung, Johan. “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research.” Journal of Peace Research. (WEB)
2. ETHICAL ISSUES: IS VIOLENCE EVER JUSTIFIED? (January 21).
· Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter from aBirmingham Jail”: http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
· Nelson Mandela, “I am Prepared to Die.” (WEB)
· “War”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/war/
3. IS VIOLENCE INHERENTY HUMAN? (January 28)
· Milgram, Stanley. 1963. “Behavioral Study of Obedience.” (WEB).
· Geen, Russell. Human Aggression. Chapter 1. (do not read preface, unless you really want to) (WEB)
· TED Radio Hour, The Violence Within Us. Listen to ‘full episode’ online: http://www.npr.org/2013/03/28/175609678/the-violence-within-us
*QUIZ #1, January 30
4. INTERNATIONAL WAR (February 4)
· Human Security Report (2009 edition) Part I, Chapter 1. http://www.hsrgroup.org/human-security-reports/20092010/text.aspx (note, this is not the same as the 2012 report, but is from an earlier edition).
· Art and Jervis reader: Chapters by Mearshiemer, Art, Schelling, Jervis (WEB)
5. A MORE PEACEFUL WORLD? (February 11)
· Owen, John. “How Liberalism Promotes Democratic Peace.” (WEB)
· Zacher, Mark. “The Territorial Integrity Norm: International Boundaries and the Use of Force” (WEB).
*QUIZ #2, February 13
6. CIVIL WAR I (February 18)
· Human Security Report 2012, Chapters 5&6.
· Breaking the Conflict Trap. Chapters 1-2. (WEB)
7. CIVIL WAR II (February 25)
· Breaking the Conflict Trap. Chapters 3-4 (WEB)
· Salehyan & Gleditsch. “Refugees and the Spread of Civil War” (WEB)
· Rotberg, Robert. “Failed States in a World of Terror.” (WEB)
*MIDTERM EXAM, February 27 (Taken on your own. Do not come to class)
8. GENDER AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE (March 4)
· The Economist, Violence Against Women: War’s Overlooked Victims. (WEB)
· Human Security Report 2012, Chapters 1-2
· Wood, Elisabeth Jean. 2006. “Variation in Sexual Violence During War.” Politics and Society. (WEB)
· Hudson, et al. “The Heart of the Matter: The Security of Women and the Security of States.” (WEB)
--SPRING BREAK MARCH 10-15--
9. CONFLICT RESOLUTION (March 18)
· Walter, Barbara. “Designing Transitions from Civil War.” (WEB)
· Pape, Robert. “When Duty Calls: A Pragmatic Standard of Humanitarian Intervention” (WEB)
· Bar-Tal, Daniel. “From Intractable Conflict Through Conflict Resolution to Reconciliation: a Psychological Analysis.” (WEB)
10: INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM (March 25)
· Shughart, William. “An Analytical History of Terrorism.” (WEB)
· Farrall, Leah. “How Al-Qaeda Works” (WEB)
· Byman, Daniel. “Terrorism After the Revolutions.” (WEB)
· Listen online: “A Test for Saudi Arabia’s Terrorist-Rehab Program” http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123661284
*QUIZ #3, March 27
11. HUMAN RIGHTS (April 1)
· Donnelly, International Human Rights, Chapters 1-3.
· The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
· Ungar, Mark. 2000. “State Violence and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Rights.” New Political Science. (WEB)
12. HUMAN RIGHTS (April 8)
· Donnelly, International Human Rights, Chapters 5-6, 10
· Wettsetein, Florian. 2010. “The Duty to Protect: Corporate Complicity, Political Responsibility, and Human Rights Advocacy.” Journal of Business Ethics (WEB)
· Karnani, Anee. 2012. “The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility.” Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703338004575230112664504890.html
13. ISSUES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE: POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT (April 15)
· Pogge, Thomas “World Poverty and Human Rights.” (WEB)
· Risse, Mathias. “Do We Owe the Global Poor Assistance or Rectification?” (WEB)
· Brown, Lester. “The New Geopolitics of Food.” (WEB)
· Banerjee and Duflo, “More than 1 Billion People are Hungry in the World.” (WEB)
*QUIZ #4, April 17
14. ISSUES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE: CLIMATE CHANGE (April 22)
· Gardiner, Stephen. “A Perfect Moral Storm: Climate Change, Intergenerational Ethics and the Problem of Moral Corruption.” (WEB)
· Barnett, Jon and Neil Adger. “Climate Change, Human Security, and Violent Conflict.” (WEB)
15. CONCLUSION AND REVIEW (April 29)
· Nobel Peace Prize Speeches:
o Elie Wiesel, 1986: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1986/wiesel-acceptance.html
o Dalai Lama, 1989: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1989/lama-acceptance.html
o Shirin Ebadi, 2003: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2003/ebadi-lecture-e.html
o Muhammed Yunus, 2006: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/yunus-lecture-en.html
FINAL EXAM: Thursday, May 8. Will be posted online. Do not come to class.
The University of North Texas is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference Public Law 92-112 – The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. With the passage of new federal legislation entitled Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same opportunities enjoyed by all citizens. As a faculty member, I am required by law to provide "reasonable accommodations" to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Student responsibility primarily rests with informing faculty of their need for accommodation and in providing authorized documentation through designated administrative channels.