University of Colorado at Boulder
Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS)
2500
Instructor: Robin Crews
Fall, 1995
Purpose and Objectives of the Course
This course provides an essential introduction to the interdisciplinary field of peace studies (and to peacemaking), its relationship with other academic disciplines, and careers in the field. Course objectives include familiarity with: the causes, symptoms and dynamics of conflict, violence, and war (interpersonal to global); the philosophical, logical and theological bases of peacemaking; the causes, symptoms and dynamics of peace (interpersonal to global); nonviolence; peacemaking and conflict resolution; activism; peace movements; and careers in conflict resolution and peacemaking. Objectives also include learning critical thinking skills.
The course is intended for all students interested in the fundamental issues of peace, justice and conflict resolution in their lives, as well as for those students interested in the Peace and Conflict Studies Certificate.
Service-Learning
This course is designed as a "service-learning" course. Essentially this means that you will have the opportunity to augment your "traditional" learning experience in the classroom with experiential learning in the form of some kind of community service related to peace and/or conflict. Thus, you will learn about peace and conflict via service and experience - as well as through our readings and classroom discussions. We will discuss service-learning extensively at the beginning of the semester so that everyone knows what it means and understands how this aspect of the course will work.
You will be required to: (1) find an appropriate placement in a community agency (I will help you here, of course); (2) engage in three hours of service each week that helps you explore peace and conflict in some way; (3) keep a journal of your experiences and learning process; and (4) write a final paper that integrates your readings and class discussions, your understanding of peace and/or conflict, and your semester's community service work. Clearly, you will need to have a great deal of self-discipline to complete this aspect of the course successfully.
If you wish, you may "opt out" of the service-learning aspects of the class. If you prefer the "traditional" track, you will be required to complete all readings, keep a journal that, in part, responds to 5-6 sets of reading questions, and complete the mid-semester take-home essays and the final take-home essays. If you wish to "opt out" of the servicelearning dimension of the class, you must inform me of this no later than September 7th.
Everyone will be required to complete all the readings on time and participate actively in the class discussions.
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays: 1:30 - 3:00 pm, and by
appointment.
Office: Institute of Behavioral Science #5, Suite #11, (1202
17th Street - Next to the Armory)
Campus Phone: 27718
Campus Box:
471
Email Address: crews@csf.colorado.edu
Course Requirements/Grades
The Service-Learning Track:
1. Find an appropriate placement in a community agency; - 40% of grade engage in three hours of service each week that helps you explore peace and conflict in some way; and actively participate in "structured reflection" sessions about your service during class time. 2. Keep a journal of your experiences and learning process (I will collect and read these on a regular basis, and this will contribute to the 40% of the grade (above). 3. Using your journal as a starting point, write a final paper that - 30% integrates your community service work, your readings, class discussions, and your understanding of peace and conflict. 4. Participate Actively in Class Discussions on Readings - 30% (Attendance will be noted, but not "graded;" instead, it will be used as a "fudge factor" in determining grades) Total - 100%The "Traditional" Track:
1. Complete All Readings and keep a journal of your thoughts - 25% of grade as you read and discuss in class. During the semester, I will hand out 5-6 sets of reading questions, which are intended to guide you in your readings for a given day. At these times, you are required to address these questions sufficiently in your journal entries. 2. Active Participation in Class Discussions on Readings - 30% (Attendance will be noted, but not "graded;" instead, it will be used as a "fudge factor" in determining grades) 3. Complete the Mid-Semester Take-Home Essays - 15% 4. Complete the Semester-End Take-Home Essays - 30% Total - 100%
Accessing Class Documents via Email
This syllabus, all reading set
questions, and the mid-semester and semester-end take-home essay questions can
be accessed by email. You may turn in your take-home essays via email if you
wish. The purpose of doing this is to assist you in becoming familiar with the
computer and the many opportunities available to you once you have a CU computer
account. Our working together in this way will also protect our natural
resources (forests, energy, etc.). To do so, get a CU computer account, "log
on," and send me an email message indicating you want to use email for your
class work.
Important Dates to Remember
Sep 7 INFORM ME IF YOU WISH TO TAKE THE
"TRADITIONAL TRACK"
Sep 14 HAVE A SERVICE-LEARNING PLACEMENT & CONTRACT
SIGNED BY TODAY
Oct 19 Mid-Semester Take-Home Essays Due (in Class)
Dec 12
Last class (for this course)
Dec 14 Reading Day
Dec 19 Exam Period for
this class (11:30am - 2:30pm)
Final Paper or Semester-End Take-Home Essays
Due (no later than 1:00pm)
You will need to buy the following books for required readings:
Louis Fischer, Gandhi. His Life and Message for the World. NY: New American
Library. 1954.
Roger Fisher and William Ury, Getting to Yes. New York:
Penguin. 1981.
Ruth Leger Sivard, World Military and Social Expenditures
1993. Wash.,D.C: World Priorities.
Optional books to buy:
David P. Barash, Introduction to Peace Studies. Belmont: Wadsworth,
1991.
Joseph J. Fahey and Richard Armstrong (Eds.), A Peace Reader: Essential
Readings on War, Justice, Non-Violence and World Order. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist
Press. 1992.
Ronald J. Glossop, Confronting War. Jefferson: McFarland,
1983.
Robert L. Holmes, Nonviolence in Theory and Practice. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth. 1990.
Weekly Schedule and Readings
August
I. Introduction to the Course
29 Overview of the course; syllabus, objectives, requirements,
readings; approach to topic; what is "service-learning"?
II. Peace and the Person: Conflict Resolution and Interpersonal Conflict
31 Conflict Analysis, Conflict Styles, Negotiation & Mediation
Readings: Fisher & Ury, Getting to Yes (xi-83)
September
5-7 Conflict Resolution and Interpersonal Conflict (con't.)
Conflict Analysis, Conflict Styles, Negotiation & Mediation
Readings: Fisher & Ury, Getting to Yes (84-154)
7 INFORM ME IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THE "TRADITIONAL TRACK"
III. Justice (what is it?) and Human Rights (for whom?)
12 Readings: (Total = 31 pages)
Barash, "Human Rights" (463-92)
United Nations General Assembly, "The Universal Declaration
of Human Rights" (333-38)
IV. Service as One Path to Peace and Justice
14 Service-learning; service placements; contracts; initial
reflections; looking ahead at service for the rest of the semester
HAVE A SERVICE-LEARNING PLACEMENT & CONTRACT SIGNED BY TODAY
V. 50 Years Beyond Hiroshima and Nagasaki: How Far Have We Come?
19 Slide Presentation on Hiroshima
Readings: (Total = 19 pages)
Schell, "A Republic of Insects and Grass" (56-66)
Lifton, "Beyond Psychic Numbing: A Call to Awareness" (111-22)
Russell, "Inheritance, Extinction and Personal Honesty" (126-29)
21 Talking About the Bomb Together: A Time for Reflection
Readings: (Total = 27 pages)
Barash, "The Meaning of War" (31-53)
Glossop, "The Historical Framework" (26-34)
VI. Before Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Origins of Conflict, Violence and War
26 What Do We Mean By "Conflict," "Violence," "War?"
Readings: (Total = 21 pages)
Cancian & Gibson, "Is War Inevitable?" (1-10)
Glossop, "The Value of War" (76-84)
Critical Thinking: The Rules of the Game
Glossop, "Investigating the Cause of War" (36-39)
28 Causes & Symptoms: Human Nature, Individual Aggression, & War
Readings: (Total = 13 pages)
Glossop, "Individual Human Aggression...and War" (39-46)
Huddleston, "The Nature of Man" (27-31)
"The Seville Statement on Violence" (2 pages - handed out in class)
October
3 Causes & Symptoms: Militarism and Nationalism
Readings: (Total = 19 pages)
Barash, "The Group Level: Nationalism" (175-96)
5 Causes & Symptoms: Militarism and Nationalism (con't.)
In-Class Film: Gwynne Dyer, "War: Anybody's Son Will Do"
(MEET IN STADIUM ROOM 350 FOR FILM TODAY)
10 Causes & Symptoms: Religious Ideology
Readings: (Total = 17+ pages)
Mark Twain, The War Prayer
Huddleston, "Religious Strife" (19-21)
Barash, "Ethical and Religious Perspectives" (439-57)
12 Other Causes & Symptoms: Arms Races, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia,
Ethnocentricity... (MID-SEMESTER TAKE-HOME ESSAYS HANDED OUT TODAY)
Readings: (Total = 25 pages)
In-Class: Dr. Seuss, The Butter Battle Book
Dower, "Apes and Others" (100-10)
Huddleston, "Racism" and "Extremes of Wealth and Poverty"
(14-19)*
Huddleston, "The Domination of Public Affairs by Men and the
Subjection of Women," and "Arms Competitions" (21-27)
Huddleston, "The Unity of Mankind," and "Long-Term
Objectives" (39-45)
VII. Costs and Consequences of Violence and War
17 The Social, Economic, Political, Psychological and Environmental
Costs of Violence
Readings: (Total = 22+ pages)
Brock-Utne, "What is Peace?" (1-22)
Sivard, World Military and Social Expenditures 1991 (Selections)
MID-SEMESTER TAKE-HOME ESSAYS DUE (at the beginning of class)
VIII. Service Focus
19 Service & Service-Learning: Structured
Reflection
IX. Non-Principled Nonviolence
24 Histories of Successful, Nonviolent Conflict Resolution, and
Civilian-Based Defense
Readings: (Total = 39 pages)
Sharp, "The Techniques of Nonviolent Action" (223-9)
Sharp, "198 Methods of Nonviolent Action" (473-9)
Sharp, "Illustrations from the Past" (75-101)
X. Origins of Peace/making
26 Philosophical and Logical Bases for Peace/making
Readings: (Total = 27 pages)
Thucydides, "A Debt of Generosity..." (457)
Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience" (57-82)
Eisenhower, "A Theft from Those Who Hunger..." (455)
31 Theological Bases for Peace/making: Buddhism
Readings: (Total = 19 pages)
Hanh, "Interbeing" (83-102)
November
2 Theological Bases for Peace/making: Christianity
Readings: (Total = 28 pages)
The Holy Bible, "The Sermon On The Mount." Matthew 5-7; Luke
6:20-49
The Holy Bible, "Swords into Plowshares..." Micah 4:1-4,
(466)
Tolstoy, "The Kingdom of God is Within You" (177-95)
Muste, "War Is the Enemy" (121-124)
XI. Pacifism and Principled Nonviolence
7 Mohandas K. Gandhi, South Africa, and India
No Class: See Film: "Gandhi"
Readings: (Total = 43 pages)
Fischer, "Gandhi. His Life and Message for the World" (7-49)
(MEET IN STADIUM ROOM 350 FOR FILM TODAY - or see it on your own)
9 Gandhi (con't.)
No Class: See Film: "Gandhi"
Readings: (Total = 53 pages)
Fischer, "Gandhi. His Life and Message for the World" (50-102)
(MEET IN STADIUM ROOM 350 FOR FILM TODAY - or see it on your own)
14 Gandhi (con't.)
Readings: (Total = 46 pages)
Fischer, "Gandhi. His Life and Message for the World" (102-148)
16 Gandhi (con't.)
Readings: (Total = 48 pages)
Fischer, "Gandhi. His Life and Message for the World" (148-189)
Baez, "Three Cheers for Grandma!" (62-68)
21 Pacifism, Principled Nonviolence and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Readings: (Total = 16 pages)
King, Jr., "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (219-34)
23 Thanksgiving Holiday
28 Martin Luther King, Jr. (con't.)
Readings: (Total = 18 pages)
King, Jr., "Pilgrimage to Nonviolence" (90-107)
XII. Women and Peace
30 Women and Peace
Readings: (Total = 27 pages)
Reardon, "Core Concepts, Basic Assumptions, and Fundamental
Values" (10-35)
December
5 Women and Peace (con't.)
Readings: (Total = 19 pages)
Perrigo, "Feminism and Peace" (303-322)
7 Women and Peace (con't.)
Readings: (Total = 15 pages)
Sylvester, "Patriarchy, Peace and Women Warriors" (33-50)
Conclusions and Course Evaluations
12 Last Class: Conclusions and Course Evaluations
FINAL SEMESTER-END TAKE-HOME ESSAY QUESTIONS HANDED OUT TODAY
14 (Reading Day)
19 Final Exam Period (Tuesday, 11:30am - 2:30pm)
FINAL PAPERS OR SEMESTER-END TAKE-HOME ESSAYS DUE
(no later than 1:00pm)
Bibliography
Required Readings
Baez, Joan, "Three
Cheers for Grandma!" (Source Unknown). Pp.62-68.
Barash, David P.,
Introduction to Peace Studies. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1991. Readings in Barash:
"The Meaning of War" (31-53), "The Group Level: Nationalism" (175-96), "Ethical
and Religious Perspectives" (439-457), and "Human Rights"
(463-92).
Brock-Utne, Birgit, "What is Peace?" Educating for Peace: A
Feminist Perspective. New York: Pergamon, 1985. Pp.1-22.
Cancian,
Francesca M., and James William Gibson, "Is War Inevitable?" Cancian &
Gibson, op. cit. Pp.1-10.
Dower, John W., "Apes and Others." Cancian
& Gibson, op. cit. Pp.100-10.
Eisenhower, Dwight D., "A Theft from
Those Who Hunger..." Fahey and Armstrong (1992), op. cit. Pp.455.
Fahey,
Joseph J., and Richard Armstrong (Eds.), A Peace Reader: Essential Readings on
War, Justice, Non-Violence and World Order. (Selections). Mahwah, NJ: Paulist
Press, 1992.
Fischer, Louis, Gandhi. His Life and Message for the World.
NY: New American Library. 1954.
Fisher, Roger, and William Ury, Getting
to Yes. New York: Penguin. 1981.
Glossop, Ronald J., "The Historical
Framework" (19-34), "Investigating the Cause of War" (36-39), "Individual Human
Aggression...and War" (39-46), and "The Value of War" (76-84) in Confronting
War. Jefferson: McFarland, 1983.
Hanh, Thich Nhat, "Interbeing." Being
Peace. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press. 1987. Pp.83-102.
The Holy Bible,
"The Sermon On The Mount." Matthew 5-7, Luke 6: 20-49.
The Holy Bible,
"Swords into Plowshares..." (Micah 4:1-4). Fahey and Armstrong (1992), op. cit.
Pp.466.
Huddleston, John, "Racism" and "Extremes of Wealth and Poverty"
(14-19), "Religious Strife" 19-21), "The Domination of Public Affairs by Men and
the Subjection of Women" and "Arms Competitions" (21-27), "The Nature of Man"
(27-31), and "The Unity of Mankind" and "Long-Term Objectives" (39-45) in
Achieving Peace by the Year 2000. London: Oneworld. 1988.
King, Martin
Luther, Jr., "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." Fahey and Armstrong (1987), op.
cit. Pp.219-34.
King, Martin Luther, Jr., "Pilgrimage to Nonviolence."
Stride Toward Freedom. San Francisco: Harper and Row. 1958,1986.
Pp.90-107.
Lifton, Robert Jay, "Beyond Psychic Numbing: A Call to
Awareness." Weston, Burns H., Toward Nuclear Disarmament and Global Security: A
Search for Alternatives. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. 1984., op.cit.
Pp.111-22.
Muste, A.J., "War Is the Enemy." Holmes (1990), op. cit.
Pp.121-124.
Perrigo, Sarah, "Feminism and Peace." Peaceful Relationships.
Pp.303-322.
Reardon, Betty A., "Core Concepts, Basic Assumptions, and
Fundamental Values," in Sexism and the War System. NY: Teachers College Press,
Columbia University. 1985. Pp.10-35.
Russell, Donovan, "Inheritance,
Extinction and Personal Honesty." Fahey and Armstrong (1987), op. cit.
Pp.126-29.
Schell, Jonathan, "A Republic of Insects and Grass." Weston,
op. cit. Pp.56-66. Seuss, Dr., The Butter Battle Book. NY: Random House.
1984.
"The Seville Statement on Violence." 1986.
Sharp, Gene,
"Illustrations from the Past." The Politics of Nonviolent Action. Part I: Power
and Struggle. Boston, MA: Porter Sargent. 1973.
Sharp, Gene, "198 Methods
of Nonviolent Action." Fahey and Armstrong (1992), op. cit.
Pp.473-9.
Sharp, Gene, "The Techniques of Nonviolent Action." Fahey and
Armstrong (1992), op. cit. Pp.223-9.
Sivard, Ruth Leger, World Military
and Social Expenditures 1993. Washington, D.C.: World Priorities.
1993.
Sylvester, Christine, "Patriarchy, Peace and Women Warriors." Fahey
and Armstrong (1992), op. cit. Pp.33-50.
Thoreau, Henry David, "Civil
Disobedience." Staughton Lynd (Ed.), Nonviolence in America: A Documentary
History. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1966. Pp.57-82.
Thucydides, "A Debt
of Generosity..." Fahey and Armstrong (1992), op. cit. Pp.457.
Tolstoy,
Leo, "The Kingdom of God is Within You." Howard P. Kainz (Ed.), Philosophical
Perspectives on Peace: An Anthology of Classical and Modern Sources. Athens, OH:
Ohio University Press, 1987. Pp.177-95.
Twain, Mark, The War Prayer. New
York: Harper Colophon, 1923, 1970.
United Nations General Assembly, "The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Fahey and Armstrong (1992), op. cit.
Pp.333-38.
Weston, Burns H., Toward Nuclear Disarmament and Global
Security: A Search for Alternatives. (Selections). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
1984.
Suggested Readings
Barash, David P., Introduction to Peace
Studies. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1991.
Readings in Barash: "The Meaning of
Peace" (5-13), "Peace Movements" (55-79), "Conflicting Ideologies"
(245-248).
Brown, Robert McAfee, "Christian Responsibility in Human
Rights." in Making Peace in the Global Village. Philadelphia: Westminster Press.
1981. Pp. 82-92.
Brown, Robert McAfee, "War as the Most Obvious Example
of Violence" (15-26). Religion and Violence: A Primer for White Americans.
Philadelphia: Westminster, 1973.
Dumas, Lloyd J., "Military Spending and
Economic Decay." Joseph J. Fahey and Richard Armstrong (Eds.), A Peace Reader:
Essential Readings on War, Justice, Non-Violence and World Order. New York:
Paulist Press, 1987. Pp.41-64.
Dyer, Gwynne, "Anybody's Son Will Do."
Cancian & Gibson, op. cit. Pp.101-29.
Glossop, Ronald J., "The Nature
of the War Problem"(2-6), "The Conceptual Framework" (7-11), "Group Competition
and Group Identification" (47-61), and "Other Views About Causes of War"
(62-75), in Confronting War. Jefferson: McFarland, 1983.
Holmes, Robert
L., (Ed.) "Origins: Preview" (8-9) in Nonviolence in Theory and Practice.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 1990.
Howard, Michael, "The Causes of War." Fahey
and Armstrong (1992), op. cit. Pp.20-32.
Huddleston, John, "The Causes of
War and the Paths to Peace" (10-14), and "The Question of National Sovereignty"
(31-39) in Achieving Peace by the Year 2000. London: Oneworld.
1988.
Hunter, Doris, "On the Bhagavad-Gita." Holmes (1990), op. cit.
Pp.16-19.
Ingram, Catherine, "Joan Baez" (55-73), "Cesar Chavez"
(99-121), "Joanna Macy" (141-167), and "Desmond Tutu" (273-284) in In the
Footsteps of Gandhi: Conversations with Spiritual Social Activists. Berkeley,
CA: Parallax Press. 1990.
Kimelman, Reuven, "Nonviolence in the Talmud."
Holmes (1990), op. cit. Pp.20-27. Lao Tzu, "The Way of Lao Tzu." Holmes (1990),
op. cit. Pp.14-15.
Laotse, "from The Way of Life (The Book of Tao)."
Fahey and Armstrong (1992), op. cit. Pp.462-3.
Montagu, Ashley, "The New
Litany of 'Innate Depravity,' or Original Sin Revisited." Fahey and Armstrong
(1992), op. cit. Pp.5-19.
Muste, A.J., "The Individual Conscience." Fahey
and Armstrong (1992), op. cit. Pp.205-12.
Schellenberg, James, "Charles
Darwin and the Biology of Human Aggression." The Science of Conflict. NY: Oxford
University Press, 1982. Pp.19-28.
Sharma, I.C., "The Ethics of Jainism."
Holmes (1990), op. cit. Pp.10-14.
Sharp, Gene, "Preface" and "Defense
Without War?" in Civilian-Based Defense. Princeton University Press. 1990.
Pp.vii-viii, 3-20.
White, T.H., The Book of Merlyn. Austin: The
University of Texas Press; 1977. Pp.118-22.