College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Catalog 2016

230 This graduate seminar explores conflict at the societal-level in Ireland. Two case studies will be used to investigate Irish conflict. First, the conflict over Northern Ireland will be examined. In this conflict, students will consider Ireland’s historical conflict with Britain and how it led to the conflict between Irish Catholics and British Protestants in Northern Ireland. Then the current conflict dynamics and those of the recent past will be considered, culminating in the Good Friday Agreement and the relative state of peaceful co- existence that exists today. Different conflict resolution strategies employed in the conflict will also be examined (like the use of restorative justice). The course will also examine the intra-Irish social conflict between the settled Irish and the Irish travelers. The travelers had a historic role as tin smiths in Irish society but, as this livelihood was left behind, their nomadic lifestyle and different culture led to a broad, long-term societal conflict between themselves and the settled Irish. This seminar will explore this conflict and consider current conditions of travelers, some of the underlying drivers of the conflict (like culture and power differences), and some of the ways that travelers have attempted to protect their culture and lifestyle in Ireland (such as through the traveler’s social movement). MACS 6666 - Social Advocacy for Patients and Clients This course examines strategies for developing advocacy toward marketing ideas, achieving buy in from others and shaping opinion. It includes strategies for developing advocacy on behalf of patients and clients in other settings as well as teaching individuals and other groups how to bets advocate for themselves. The course will draw upon research in the fields of persuasion, power relations, and public advocacy. Topics covered will include: developing messages, context of communicating messages, emotional tenor of advocacy and creating a persuasive message. MACS 6667 – Advanced Transitional Justice War and large scale violence deeply scar individuals and societies. Peace does not come with the silencing of the guns and the danger of conflict resurgence is extremely high in the immediate aftermath of hostilities. Long term resolution of conflicts requires that the damage of past conflicts be addressed so as to enable societies to progress into peaceable, just futures. Transitional Justice has grown into a new subfield of study and it addresses some deeply challenging questions arising out of violence. How can societies torn apart by war, genocide, atrocities, and dictatorships emerge into a new and brighter future? Can people and citizens deeply scarred by violence learn to forgive, forget and/or co-exist? Or does true healing require punishment, vengeance, and retribution for crimes past? In this class we balance moral, legal, and psychotherapeutic theories against the realities of historical and contemporary examples. We will examine the solutions proposed so far including the International Criminal Court, Truth Commissions, Memorializations, Reparations etc. We will look at some specific examplars such as South Africa, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Sri Lanka, Canada, Argentina and others. MACS 6668 – Organizing Nonviolent Social Change This is a practice course that aims to provide students with the skills necessary to make nonviolent social change happen. It grows out of experiences in legislative advocacy in Washington DC and community mobilization on conflict resolution and federal appropriations allocations for HIV Aids programming. Students will explore some of the practicalities of nonviolent social action and how to participate more effectively in initiatives. Cases of nonviolent struggle, principles of strategy, and the techniques and methods of nonviolent action will be covered. Some skills covered will be: How to frame messages for mobilization, how to raise funding (including taking advantage of internet use), how to work with the media etc. Students will be assigned skill based exercises like creating posters (hard copy or electronic), writing talking points for legislative testimony etc. We will use strategies from Gene Sharp and Saul Alinsky (tutor to Hillary Clinton and President Obama). MACS 6669 – Theory and Practice of Peace Education This course will introduce students to the central concepts, theories, current debates and cutting-edge practices as regards peace education. Essential questions include what peace education is, experiential learning, how do faculty design curriculum around peace education, how faculty can address nonviolence in the classroom, best practices in assisting students to understand the role of power and inequalities in conflict, and how to facilitate student (and teacher) understanding of entrenched historical conflicts. MACS 6670 – Introduction to International Relations and International Issues This course is an introduction to world politics and is intended to give the student a better understanding of international relations and the complex issues and perspectives affecting the world community. We will investigate many aspects of international relations such as the dominate theories of international relations, the history of the nation-state, the definition of power, Islamic fundamentalism, terrorism, war, ethnic conflict, political economy, international institutions, transnational organizations, trade, modernization, dependency theory, imperialism, globalization, and the foreign policy of the United States and its impact on the world community. Students are expected to keep up to date with current global events by reading an international newspaper each day and being prepared to connect and apply