PSIR214 WAR AND PEACE STUDIES
| Course Code: | 3540214 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 3 (3.00 - 0.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 6.0 |
| Department: | Political Science and International Relations |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Undergraduate |
| Course Coordinator: | Assoc.Prof.Dr. HANDE SÖZER |
| Offered Semester: | Spring Semesters. |
Course Objectives
The general objective of this course is to provoke a critical awareness of issues of war and peace in international relations. By the end of the semester, students should be able to:
- Identify the main debates which have problematised political violence, war and peace, and to relate these to the disciplines of International Relations on the one hand and Political Science on the other hand.
- Identify and consider the variety and characteristics of different forms of organized violence across modern history, and to identify the variety and characteristics of peace,
- Identify various concepts of the causes and consequences of war and peace,
- Identify key histories and historical examples in the transformation of war and peace,
- Identify and analyse the impact of war and peace upon the development and transformation of international relations,
- Identify topics in war and peace studies around which a seminar paper will be composed and an oral presentation be given in class,
- Identify topics in war and peace studies around which study projects can be focused, obtain research findings and communicate the results of empirical research clearly and professionally in a written paper.
Course Content
This course examines the historically changing expressions and meanings of war and peace. Is -war- a distinctive form of social and political violence ? Is peace simply the absence of war ? Is peace or war the international norm ? How have the causes of war (and peace) changed over history ? How have wars been concluded and has this entailed the outbreak of peace ? These and other questions are addressed in the context of the development of international relations, the international system and imperialism. The basic ideas of war studies on the one hand and peace studies on the other hand are introduced and reviewed before considering a range of theoretical approaches to the field and examining distinct historical examples of the outbreak of wars and the conclusion of -peace-.
Course Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to distinguish between direct, structural and cultural violence.
- Students will be familiar with competing debates about the decline of violence under the condition of modernity (Pinker).
- Students will gain an understanding of the links between genocide, the Holocaust and modernity (Bauman).
- Students will be aware of the changing nature of war; from inter-state wars to intra-state wars and terrorism.
Program Outcomes Matrix
| Level of Contribution | |||||
| # | Program Outcomes | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | Having academic knowledge in Political Science and International relations disciplines | ✔ | |||
| 2 | Developing an interdisciplinary perspective incorporating other areas of the social sciences as well | ✔ | |||
| 3 | Being capable of evaluating political, economic and social matters at local, national and international levels | ✔ | |||
| 4 | Being capable of making sense of, follow and analyze political, economic and social events | ✔ | |||
| 5 | Being sensitive to global, environmental and social problems | ✔ | |||
| 6 | Developing a critical mind capable of making constructive criticisms, open to lifelong learning, researching, inquiring, questioning and problems solving | ✔ | |||
| 7 | Being capable of individual work, entrepreneur, good time management and able to actively take part in group work for common purposes | ✔ | |||
| 8 | Having effective communication skills in Turkish and English languages | ✔ | |||
| 9 | Being capable of using communication technologies in reaching to information and organizing and presenting this information in a systematic way | ✔ | |||
0: No Contribution 1: Little Contribution 2: Partial Contribution 3: Full Contribution