Gender, Culture and Conflict in Humanitarian Complex Emergencies
Professors: Dyan Mazurana, PhD, Associate Professor, Research Director, Feinstein International Center and Elizabeth Stites, Senior Researcher, Feinstein International Center
Course Offering: Spring Semester 2010
Time: This class is offered in two sections: Monday at 8:45-10:45 and Monday at 3:20-5:20pm
Assignments for Course: 5% class questions, 45% response papers, 50% conference presentation and final paper.
Field Designation of Course: Human Security
Catalog Description of Course: This course examines situations of armed conflict and complex emergencies and the international and national humanitarian, human rights and military responses to these situations from a gender perspective and highlights the policy and program implications that this perspective presents. Topics covered include gender analyses of current trends in armed conflict and terrorism; gender analyses of the links among war economies, globalization and armed conflict; gendered analysis of the killing of civilians; the manipulation of gender roles to fuel war and violence; sexual and gender-based violations; women’s rights in international humanitarian and human rights law during armed conflict; responses to reparations for grave violations of human rights; gender and peacekeeping operations; and gender and peace processes and peace-building. Case studies are drawn from recent armed conflicts worldwide. This class privileges a focus on women and, to a lesser extent, girls because they usually face heightened levels of risk, gender discrimination and sexism within situations of armed conflict and complex emergencies and the humanitarian, human rights and military responses to these situations.
Syllabus
Gender, Culture and Conflict in Humanitarian Complex Emergencies
Part I. Introduction to Gender and Armed Conflict
Stites Shopping Day Tuesday January 19
Overview of the class
Mazurana Class 1 (Monday, January 25) Introduction to the Course: Gender and Armed Conflict
Hugo Slim, “Introduction,” “Limited Warfare and Its Rivals,” Killing Civilians: Method, Madness and Morality in War, Columbia University Press: New York (2008), pp. 1-36.
Dyan Mazurana, “Gender and the Causes and Consequences of Armed Conflict,” in Gender, Conflict, and Peacekeeping, (eds.) Dyan Mazurana, Angela Raven-Roberts, and Jane Parpart, Rowman & Littlefield: Oxford & Boulder (2004).
Margaret Urban Walker, “Gender and Violence in Focus” in The Gender of Reparations: Unsettling Sexual Hierarchies while Redressing Human Rights Violations, (ed.) Ruth Rubio, Cambridge University Press (2009).
Recommended Readings
Cynthia Cockburn, “The Continuum of Violence. A Gender Perspective on War and Peace,” in Sites of Violence, (eds.) Jennifer Hyndman and Wenona Giles, University of California Press: Berkeley (2004), pp. 24-44. Karen Beckwith, “A Common Language of Gender?” Politics and Gender (1) 1, 2005, pp. 128-137.
Resolution of the Secretary General to the Security Council on Women, Peace and Security S/2004/814.
Mazurana Class 2 (Monday, February 1) Today’s Armed Conflicts: The Causes of Armed Conflict and Global Governance
Mark Duffield, “Introduction: The New Development-Security Terrain,” and “The Merging of Development and Security,” “Global Governance and the Causes of Conflict,” in Global Governance and the New Wars: The Merging of Development and Security, Zed Books: London (2001).
Cynthia Enloe, “Updating the Gendered Empire,” The Curious Feminist, Searching for Women in the New Age of Empire, University of California Press: Berkeley (2004) pp. 269-305.
Mark Duffield, “The Growth of Transborder Shadow Economies” in Global Governance and the New Wars: The Merging of Development and Security, Zed Books: London (2001), pp. 136-159.
Mark Duffield “War as Network Enterprise: The New Security Terrain and Its Implications” Cultural Values Volume 6 (2002) pp. 153-165.
Carolyn Nordstrom, “Entering the Shadows,” “The Culture of the Shadows,” and “Ironies in the Shadow,” in Shadow Wars: Violence, Power and International Profiteering in the Twenty-first Century, University of California Press: Berkeley (2004), pp 87-103, 119-38 and 209-224.
Recommended Reading:
Julie Mertus, Wars Offensive on Women: The Humanitarian Challenge in Bosnia, Kosova, and Afghanistan, Kumarian Press: Bloomfield, CT (2000), pp. Preface; 1-70
Mervat Hatem, 2003, “Discourses on the ‘War on Terrorism’ in the U.S. and its Views of the Arab, Muslim, and Gendered ‘Other,’” Arab Studies Journal 6(2)/7(1), Fall/Spring, pp. 77-97.
Mary Ann Tetreault, “The Sexual Politics of Abu Ghraib: Hegemony, Spectacle, and the Global War on Terror,” NWSA Journal 18(3), Fall, pp. 33-50.
Al-Ali, Nadje. 2005. “Reconstructing Gender: Iraqi Women between Dictatorship, War, Sanctions and Occupation.” Third World Quarterly 26 (4-5), pp. 739-758.
Mazurana Class 3 (Monday, February 8) Paying Attention to Patterns and Specifics in Today’s Armed Conflict
Shobha Gautam, Amrita Banskota and Rita Manchanda “Where there Are No Men: Women in the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal,” in Women, War and Peace in South Asia, Sage Press: New Delhi (2001) pp. 215-248.
Karen Kampwirth, “Also a Women’s Rebellion” in Women Guerilla Movements: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas and Cuba, Pennsylvania State University Press (2002) pp. 83-115.
Beth Goldblatt and Sheila Meintjes, “South African Women Demand the Truth,” in What Women Do in Wartime: Gender and Conflict in Africa, (eds.) Meredith Turshen and Clotilde Twagiramariya, Zed Books: New York (2001), pp. 27-61.
Audrey Macklin, “Like Oil and Water with a Match: Militarized Commerce, Armed Conflict and Human Security in Sudan,” in Sites of Violence (eds.) J. Hyndman and W. Giles, University of California: Berkeley Press (2004), pp.75-107.
Recommended Reading
Haleh Afshar, “Women and Wars: Some Trajectories Towards a Feminist Peace,” Development in Practice 2&3, 2003, pp. 178-188
Stites Class 4 (Wednesday, February 17 ) Humanitarian Response and Gender in Today’s Armed Conflicts
Group members and topic submitted electronically to both professors and Alice Taylor
Hugo Slim, “Killing, Injury and Rape,” and “Movement, Impoverishment, Famine, Disease and Distress,” in Killing Civilians: Method, Madness and Morality in War, Columbia University Press: New York (2008), pp. 37-119.
Sue Lautze, Jennifer Leaning, Angela Raven-Roberts, Randolph Kent, Joanna Macrae, and Dyan Mazurana, “Humanitarian Governance: Coordination and Policy Issues in Complex Political Emergencies” The Lancet, 2005. (8 pages)
Barnett, Michael, “Humanitarianism Transformed,” Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 3, no. 4, 2005, pp, 723-740.
Donini, Antonio, “The far side: the meta functions of humanitarianism in a globalised world,” Disasters, 2010, forthcoming.
Wilder, Andrew, “Losing Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan,” Viewpoints Special Edition: “Afghanistan, 1979-2009: In the Grip of Conflict,” Washington, DC: The Middle East Institute, 2009.
Collinson, Darcy, Waddell and Schmidt (eds.), Realising Protection: The Uncertain Benefits of Civilian, Refugee and IDP Status, London: Overseas Development Institute, Humanitarian Policy Group, September 2009. Selections.
Bonwick, Andrew. “Who really protects civilians?” Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3 & 4, June 2006, 270-276.
Recommended reading:
Rieff, David, “Introduction” in A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis, New York: Simon and Schuster, 2002.
United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee, Gender Handbook for Emergencies, IASC: New York (2006), skim/read entire book.
Stites Class 5 (Monday, February 22) Gender, Livelihoods and Conflict
Lautze, Sue and Angela Raven-Roberts, “Violence and Complex Humanitarian Emergencies: implications for livelihoods models,” Disasters, 2006, 30(4): 383-401.
Buchanan-Smith, Margie and Susanne Jaspars, “Conflict, camps and coercion: the ongoing livelihoods crisis in Darfur”, Disasters 2007, 31 (S1): S57-76
Young, Helen, “The conflict-livelihoods cycle: Reducing vulnerability through understanding maladaptive livelihoods” and “Pastoralism, Power and Choice,” in Environment and Conflict in Africa: Reflections on Darfur, ed. Marcel Leroy, University for Peace, 2009.
MSF, “The Crushing Burden of Rape: Sexual Violence in Darfur.” Medecins sans Frontieres, Amsterdam, March 2005. (8 pages)
Jackson, Stephen, “Fortunes of war: the Coltan trade in the Kivus,” in “Power, livelihoods and conflict: case studies in political economy analysis for humanitarian action,” Collinson (ed.), HPG report 13, February 2003, pps 21-36.
Recommended Reading:
O’Callaghan, Jaspars and Pavanello, “Losing ground: protection and livelihoods in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” London: Overseas Development Institute, HPG Working Paper, July 2009.
Women’s Refugee Commission, “Peril or Protection: the link between livelihoods and gender-based violence in displacement settings,” New York: Women’s Refugee Commission, 2009.
Young, H., A. M. Osman, et al. (2005). “Darfur - Livelihoods Under Siege.” Medford, Feinstein International Famine Center, Tufts University.
Schafer, J. (2002). “Supporting livelihoods in situations of chronic conflict and political instability: Overview of conceptual issues.” London: Overseas Development Institute, Working Paper 183.
Stites, Mazurana, Carlson (2006). “Movement on the Margins: Livelihood and Security in Kitgum District, Northern Uganda.” Medford: Feinstein International Center, Tufts University.
Stites Class 6 (Monday, March 1) Masculinities in Conflict
Kimmel, Michael, “Masculinities and Gun Violence: The Personal Meets the Political,” Paper prepared for a session at the UN on “Men, Women and Gun Violence,” July 14, 2005 (7 pages)
Sommers, Marc, “Fearing Africa’s Young Men: Male youth, conflict, urbanization, and the case of Rwanda,” in The Other Half of Gender: Men’s Issues in Development, Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2006, 137-58.
Barker, Gary, “’Don’t worry, I’m not a thief’” (Ch 3, pp 26-40), “The trouble with young men: coming of age in social exclusion” (Ch 4, pp 41-58), and “In the headlines: Interpersonal violence and gang involvement” (Ch 5, pp 59-83) in Dying to Be Men: Youth, Masculinity and Social Exclusion, New York: Taylor & Francis Inc, 2005.
Barker, Gary and Christine Ricardo, “Young Men and the Construction of Masculinity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for HIV/AIDS, Conflict and Violence,” in The Other Half of Gender: Men’s Issues in Development, Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2006, 159-193.
Turner, Simon, “Angry Young Men in Camps: Gender, Age and Class Relations among Burundian Refugees in Tanzania,” UNHCR: Center for Documentation and Research, Working Paper #9, 1998 (145-154)
Ladbury, Sarah and CPAU, “Why do men join the Taliban and Hizb-I Islami? How much do local communities support them?” Kabul: Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU), Report prepared for DFID, August, 2009.
Mazurana Class 7 (Monday, March 8) Gender, Violence and Death in Armed Conflict
Paper abstract due electronically to both professors
Hugo Slim, “Doing the Killing,” in Killing Civilians: Method, Madness and Morality in War, Columbia University Press: New York (2008), pp. 213-250.
Alexandra Stiglmayer, ed. Mass Rape: The War against Women in Bosnia-Herzegovina (Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 1994). Selections.
Ximena Bunster, “Surviving Beyond Fear: Women and Torture in Latin America”, Surviving Beyond Fear: Women, Children & Human Rights in Latin America, (ed.) Marjorie Agosin, White Pine Press: New York (1993) pp. 98-125,
Africa Rights, Not so Innocent: When Women Kill. Selections.
Cynthia Enloe, “All the Men are in the Militias, All the Women are Victims: The Politics of Masculinity and Femininity in Nationalist Wars,” The Curious Feminist University of California Press: Berkeley (2004) pp. 99-108.
Recommended Reading
Liz Kelly, “Wars Against Women: Sexual Violence, Sexual Politics and the Militarized State,” in States of Conflict: Gender, Violence and Resistance, (eds.) Susie Jacobs, Ruth Jacobson, and Jennifer Marchbank, Zed Press: London (2000), pp.45-65.
Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, “Ambivalent Empowerment: The Tragedy of Tamil Women in Conflict” in Women, War and Peace in South Asia, Sage Press: New Delhi (2001) pp. 102-120.
Mazurana Class 8 (Monday, March 15) International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights Law and Women during Situations of Armed Conflict
ICRC, International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law: Similarities and Differences. International Committee of the Red Cross: Geneva (2003).
United Nations, Women, Peace, and Security: Report of the Secretary-General as Pursuant Security Council Resolution 1325, United Nations: New York (2002), pp. 33-58.
International Committee of the Red Cross. Women Facing War. International Committee of the Red Cross: Geneva (2004). Selections
Valerie Oosterveld, “Prosecuting Gender-Based Crimes in International Law,” in Dyan Mazurana, Angela Raven-Roberts, and Jane Parpart (eds.), Gender, Conflict, and Peacekeeping (2004) Rowman & Littlefield: Oxford & Boulder
Binaifer Nowrojee, “Making the Invisible War Crime Visible: Post-Conflict Justice for Sierra Leone’s Rape Victims,” Harvard Human Rights Journal 18 (2005) 85-105.
The Elements of Crime, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, United Nations Document, PCNICC/2000/1. Selections, skim through.
Recommended Reading
Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, Sexual Violence and International Criminal Law: An Analysis of the Ad Hoc Tribunal’s Jurisprudence and the International Criminal Courts Elements of Crimes, Author: The Hague (2005).
Rachel Harvey, Children and Armed Conflict: A Guide to International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, Children and Armed Conflict Unit: University of Essex.
Human Rights Watch, International Criminal Court: Making the International Criminal Court Work, Author: New York (September 2001).
Spring Break March 22-28
Stites Class 9 (Monday, March 29) Gender in Pastoral Societies in Crisis and Transition
Mirzeler, M. and C. Young, “Pastoral politics in the northeast periphery in Uganda: AK-47 as change agent,” The Journal of Modern African Studies, 38, 3 (2000), pp. 407-429.
Hodgson, D. “My Daughter…Belongs to the Government Now”: Marriage, Maasai and the Tanzanian State.” Canadian Journal of African Studies, vol. 30, no. 1 (1996), pp 106-123.
Stites, E., D. Akabwai, D. Mazurana and P. Ateyo, “Angering Akujů: Survival and Suffering in Karamoja; A report on livelihoods and human security in Karamoja, Uganda.” Please read sections II (Introduction), III (Generations), VII (Marriage).
Gray, S. et al. “Cattle Raiding, Cultural Survival and Adaptability of East African Pastoralists.” Current Anthropology, vol 44, Supplement, Dec 2003. Required: pages S11-S22. Optional: S3-S11 and S23-S27.
Eaton, David, “The Business of Peace: Raiding and Peace Work along the Kenya-Uganda Border (Part 1)”, African Affairs, 107/426, 89-110, 2008.
Stites, E. and D. Akabwai, “Changing Roles, Shifting Risks: Livelihood impacts of disarmament in Karamoja, Uganda.” Feinstein International Center, July 2009.
Mazurana Class 10 (Monday, April 5) Gender and Armed Opposition Groups? Gender and DDR? Gender and Transitional Justice? Gender and particular serious violations (e.g., forced recruitment of children, disappearance, torture, etc.)
The class will decide on the topic for today. Mazurana will then post the readings.
Mazurana and Stites Class 11 (Friday, April 9) Conference
Final paper bibliography due via electronic to both professors.
As a student in the course you are required to take part in a conference where your teams will present their papers, to be held on Friday afternoon at 2:-5:30 pm. The conference will last for 3 ½ hours.
Mazurana Class 12 (Monday, April 12) Resistance and Peace
Sanam Anderlini, “Preventing and Transforming Conflict Nonviolently,” and “Getting to the Peace Table,” in Women Building Peace: What They Do and Why It Matters (2007) Lynne Rienner Publishers: London, pp. 19-52, 53-92.
Jane Barry, Rising Up in Response: Women’s Rights Activism in Conflict, Urgent Action Fund: Boulder (2005), Selections.
Carolyn Nordstrom, “The Institutionalization of the Shadows,” “The Time of Not-War-Not-Peace,” “Peace,” “The Problems with Peace,” in Shadow Wars: Violence, Power and International Profiteering in the Twenty-first Century (2004) University of California Press: Berkeley, pp.139-204.
Hugo Slim, “Promoting Civilian Protection,” Killing Civilians: Method, Madness and Morality in War, Columbia University Press: New York (2008), pp. 251-293.
Mazurana and Stites Class 13 (Monday, April 19 – Final Day of Class) Conclusions
Carolyn Nordstrom, “The War of the Month Club: Iraq,” Shadow Wars: Violence, Power and International Profiteering in the Twenty-first Century (2004) University of California Press: Berkeley, 245-250.
Mark Duffield, “Conclusion: Global Governance, Moral Responsibility and Complexity,” Global Governance and the New Wars: The Merging of Development and Security, Zed Books (2001), pp. 257-261.
Cynthia Enloe, “Conclusion: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions,” Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women’s Lives, University of California Press (2000), pp. 288-300.
April 26th, Final papers due via electronic submission to both professors
Core Texts: The following texts are required for the course
We are posting the readings on blackboard, but if you like, you can also purchase the books.
Hugo Slim, Killing Civilians: Method, Madness and Morality in War, (2008) Columbia University Press: New York
Carolyn Nordstrom, Shadow Wars: Violence, Power and International Profiteering in the Twenty-first Century (2004) University of California Press: Berkeley.
Black Board and Internet Work
A number of the texts we will be reading will be posted on Black Board for you to download. Others are available on the internet.
Class Format
The seminar format is designed to encourage student inquiry and discussion of the multi-layered and multi-faceted aspects of gender, culture, and armed conflict. The emphasis will be upon student development of ideas through self and interpersonal exploration through class assignments and participation.
Taking part in a seminar requires an even greater sense of responsibility to one's class colleagues than one should feel in an ordinary class.
Attendance and Participation
Class attendance and participation are expected behaviors. In practice this sense of personal responsibility will take the form of regular class attendance (one absence per term in a seminar is understandable; more than one absence should be seen as extraordinary) and being fully prepared to take an active part in discussions having read all the assignments for that day. This means you do not have to have all your thoughts worked out or be certain about your conclusions, but you have to be ready to help all of us unravel the puzzles together.
Learning Experiences
Audiovisuals, discussion, lectures, guest speakers, and out-of-class activities, such as attending lectures in the area, will be utilized. Response writing will also be an important learning activity. Students should also monitor current news, other media, and public events about issues related to the course.
Film Nights
We will look to host several films on issues directly raised within the course. We will show these films in the evenings and will announce them on blackboard and in class. One of the professors and the TA will be in attendance and we’ll have group discussion afterwards. Attending the films is not required, they are optional, but it is an excellent way to help you understand how different people experience armed conflict. We’ll try to serve pizza or something fun there.
Class Assignments
No late papers will be accepted.
1. Response Papers Response papers are due at the beginning of class. They should be typed, in 12 font, 4-5 pages (excluding bibliography) and double-spaced. DO NOT EXCEED THE LENGTH SPECIFIED. Response papers count for 45% of your grade. You can select 2 of the response questions to write a response.
2. Conference Presentation You will be a member of a team of approximately 4 students of your own choosing, you will prepare and deliver a conference paper on a topic of your choice relevant to issues of gender and armed conflict.
· Group and topic must to be submitted by February 17th
· Abstract must be submitted by March 8
· Bibliography of your sources must be submitted by April 9th
· Conference presentation on April 9th
3. Final Paper: Based on your conference presentation, each group will submit one 15-20 page paper on a current topic relating to armed conflict, insecurity or transition. The paper will either directly address an issue of gender or will apply a strong gendered analysis to a broader topic (i.e., DRR, post-conflict recovery, etc.). The analysis must be informed by and refer to the current and most relevant scholarship. The paper should provide an analysis of the topic, identify the main developments and positions on this topic, assess the state of response on this topic (if relevant), and then outline recommendations to the relevant actors to more effectively address the policy or programmatic gaps on this topic. The final paper will be due on April 26th. All members of the group will receive the same grade.
Guidelines for the abstract, bibliography and final paper will be posted on blackboard later in the course.
4. Student Generated Questions. At the beginning of each class meeting you will hand us a question that came up for you during the readings. Please put your name on the top of each question so we can give you credit. The question will help shape an understanding of where students’ are in understanding the readings, and may at times shape the class discussions and therefore should reflect both thoughtful and in-depth readings. These questions count for 5% of your grade.
Your final grade will be on the basis of total accumulated points:
90-100% = A; 80-89% = B; 70-79% = C; 60-69% = D; Below 60 = F
Guide for Writing a Response Paper
A response paper is a concrete and analytic response to an issue or set of issues raised by the readings. Response papers are short, focused essays which critically respond to the course readings and discussions. They should be double-spaced, 12 font, and between 4-5 pages in length. They should not simply summarize the readings. Rather, response papers are a means by which you can explore, analyze, elaborate on, and or contradict perspectives from the readings. They are a method of developing your own perspective on the issues raised, and a tool for articulating your own thoughts in response to the course readings, discussions and, when relevant, your own observations, other course readings, etc.
All response papers must cite the texts you draw from in the paper's body, as well as contain a complete bibliography. Please use the standard citation style for your field of study (e.g., APA, Chicago Manual of Style, MLA, and so on).
Evaluation The response papers are central to the class and count for 45% percent of your grade. Evaluation will be based the quality of your analysis and response. Specifically, we will be looking for the following qualities:
1) A clear, critical understanding of the issue being addressed; this means you will draw from and respond to the texts you have read.
2) A concrete, well-developed argument.
3) A carefully and thoughtfully written response.
4) Proper citations in the paper's body (this means you cite sources you use, be careful to avoid plagiarism).
5) A complete bibliography.
5) Proper grammar, sentence structure, and spelling.
A Note on Grading
The following is intended to give the student a better understanding of some of the key aspects the professors look for when determining response paper grades.
A = An exceptional, outstanding response paper. All information provided is accurate, the student also drew upon important insights, other readings or experiences to provide additional dimensions to answering the question. The student might also pose other questions or find creative ways of challenging assumptions that might answer the question. The paper is well structured, sharp introduction, smart conclusion. All citations are complete.
B = Smart response paper that provides accurate and correct information to answer the question. Citations are complete. Lack of sharp introduction and or conclusion may leave the paper incomplete.
C = The response question was answered correctly with no errors, citations are complete, but there is no particular insight into the answering the question.
D = Incorrect information given, lack of proper citation, poorly constructed argument.
Response Questions
You are required to write 2 response papers for this course. Response papers are 4-5 pages in length. You will need to draw on your assigned readings for the day the paper is due, and potentially readings from the previous days, to answer the question. Please follow the instructions in your "Response Paper Guide" in writing your papers. Response papers should properly cite all sources you draw from and include a complete bibliography. No late papers will be accepted.
There are no response questions for Classes 1 or 2. For the first two classes, you should focus on careful reading of the material, which is often quite dense.
Class 3: Paying Attention to Patterns and Specifics in Current Armed Conflict
Conflicts today both share commonalities and exhibit quite different dimensions. These different dimensions can have different gender impacts. From the readings, please select two different conflicts and contrast their gendered impact. Ensure you are also clear in noting and explaining what you think are the causes of their different gendered impact.
Class 4: Humanitarian Response and Gender in Today’s Armed Conflicts
Answer one of the following questions:
Although coming from a variety of different perspectives, the readings for today all raise important points about the current state of humanitarian assistance, including how it works, how it doesn’t, how it is perceived, and how it has evolved over the past 10-20 years. Few of these readings, however, take a gendered approach to these questions and issues. Based on what you have read in this class so far (or learned in other classes or from your own experiences), write a response paper that focuses on some of the issues raised in the readings for today and discuss the gendered implications of your selected issue (or issues) or trend (or trends). For example, you might think about the politicization or militarization of humanitarian assistance and the likely gendered effects of these processes. Or you might consider the implications for ‘hearts and minds’ campaigns from a gender perspective, or for the failure of these campaigns.
OR
Of the readings for today’s class, the Barnett and the Donini articles examine humanitarianism in very different ways. What are some of these differences, and which analysis resonates more fully with you? Why? Did either author provide a gendered analysis? Using each author’s point of view, in what ways could gender and the gendered implications of humanitarianism been more fully explored?
Class 5: Gender, Livelihoods and Conflict
The articles on Darfur illustrate how conflict has affected the livelihood assets and strategies of various groups in Darfur, but only touch occasionally on the gender dimensions of these impacts. What would this analysis look like with an added gender and generational dimension? How and why, for instance, do you think the livelihood strategies may have shifted for a particular gender or age group within one of the livelihood groups discussed (e.g., Abbala Arabs, displaced populations in GOS-held areas, coerced and exploited resident populations in GOS-held areas, etc)? Although generalization will be inevitable, try to point to areas where you might see variations and the reasons why. You are not expected to do additional reading on Darfur to answer this question—this paper can include conjecture as long as they are backed up by your reasoning and logic.
OR
The readings for this class look in depth at livelihoods, including maladaptive livelihood strategies that can include or contribute to violence. Based on our readings to date for this course, we know that violence is intentional and serves a purpose, even in seemingly chaotic settings. The MSF reading discusses gender-based violence in the form of rape in Darfur. Based on what you now know about livelihood strategies and the intentionality of violence, write a paper discussing your views on how gender-based violence in Darfur might serve specific goals and what these goals might be. You are not expected to do additional reading on Darfur to answer this question—this paper can include conjecture as long as they are backed up by your reasoning and logic.
Class 6: Masculinities in Conflict
The readings for today’s class offer different perspectives and case studies on male youth and violence. Engage with these perspectives and case studies, and draw from earlier readings for this class or from other classes. What are the different theories/motivations/underlying factors in male youth engagement in violence? How do you think these factors might be exacerbated or mitigated in situations of conflict or chronic instability? What theories or aspects resonate with you and why? Are there theories, aspects or points that do you do not find convincing? Why?
Class 7: Gender, Violence and Death in Armed Conflict
In all societies, there are roughly similar traditional perceptions of gender roles and identities in situations of armed conflict. Women are traditionally perceived as more passive in their roles of nurturers/peacemakers/bearer of familial and cultural values/mothers of warriors etc. and largely victimized by violence. Men are traditionally perceived in more active role, leader/ warriors/protectors/aggressors and largely inflict violence. However, in some conflicts, women are much more active in their use of violence, and both men/boys and women/girls use violence against other men, women and children. In other conflicts, men/boys use violence primarily against other men, women and children. What might be the reasons that men/boys and women/girls take an active role in promulgating violence in certain situations of armed conflict and do not in others? Within your response, ensure you pay attention to and highlight where necessary how these factors represent change or further entrenchment of traditional gender identities or relations.
Class 9: Armed Conflict, International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law and Women
Answer one of the two questions posed:
1) The readings for this course (especially Class 8) make clear the ways in which gender-based and sexual violence is perpetrated during situations of armed conflict. International law and response has been slow to recognize gender-based and sexual violence, yet, important recent developments have occurred with the Ad Hoc Tribunals and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Please discuss how these recent developments and rulings help to both inform and push international law and international response to advance an understanding of sexual and non-sexual gender-based crimes committed during armed conflict.
OR
2) In what ways have international standards that seek to identify and measure harm shifted to reflect the gendered realities of armed conflict? What are some of the key elements in that shift coming about? Next, how do measures that seek to remedy harms reflect a gendered recognition of crimes and violations committed during armed conflict? Finally, comment on YOUR own thinking about how successful these international standards and national and international measures for remedy have been to date and ensure you provide specific examples to illustrate your point.
Class 9: Gender in Pastoral Societies in Crisis and Transition
Answer one of the following two questions:
In this class you have been studying the use and role of violence in societies in conflict and crisis. The Karamoja region of Uganda provides an example of how violence and insecurity can pervade and shape all aspects of life. Using the readings for today and any earlier readings for the course, provide a gendered analysis of the effects of this violence and insecurity on people within Karamoja. Your analysis should touch on political, social and economic aspects. You can examine areas that are of the greatest interest to you, but possible issues for consideration include health, access to basic needs (including food and pasture), the role of the state, and shifts in local power structures. Lastly, based on the readings and your own analysis, how do you think violence in Karamoja may be changing the society over time? Some people have posited that the insecurity and upheaval in the region have brought certain positive side effects. In your analysis, do any such possibilities arise? Do you think these are positive? Why or why not?
OR
The readings for today discuss, with varying levels of detail, marriage in pastoral societies in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Although the ritual and importance of marriage in the three pastoral areas is similar, the extent of violence and insecurity in these regions is quite different. Provide an analysis of the ways in which marriage may either perpetuate or mitigate against armed violence in Karamoja. What rights and protections does marriage provide for men, women, children and their larger communities in Karamoja? What are the likely negative or positive effects of declining rates of “official marriage” (ie, with full payment of brideprice) over time? Next, reflect upon the discussion in the readings on marriage among the Karamojong and the Maasai. What are some of the important structural and social differences in these cases? What are the implications of these differences for people of different genders and generations in each case?
Class 10: TBA (once topic is set)
Class 11: Conference (no response question)
Class 12: Resistance and Peace
Does sustainable peace start in the height of the conflict or with the coming of peace accords? Explain your answer using specific examples to illustrate. Next, why do war-style human rights violations continue after the war has ended, and why does civil violence, domestic violence and organized crime frequently greatly increase in with the signing of a peace accord or a move to political transition? Why is it so hard to control and stop these forms of violence and abuse? Be as specific as possible in your answers and cover a breadth of issues in your responses – map out what is happening and why and the implications of trying to counter it and what it means for real sustainable peace. Throughout your answers to these questions, draw upon your skills to show where gender perspectives help better illuminate the situation and response.
Class 13: Conclusions
In working to understand and address situations of armed conflict and the systems and networks that drive them and that respond to them (i.e., military and humanitarian response), what are the key avenues where you would recommend that a gender perspective be brought to bear?
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