Entry requirements

General entry requirements

Learning outcomes

The course offers an anthropological perspective on the study of war and armed conflict. Using ethnographic work, it documents the everyday processes that characterize, precede and succeed war or armed conflict. After completing the course, students will possess an in-depth understanding of a selection of contemporary wars or armed conflicts, which will help them:

• Apply anthropological perspectives in the study of other wars and armed conflicts;
• Broaden their understanding of culture and everyday life in times of war and armed conflicts, an understanding pertinent in humanitarian aid, journalism, and conflict resolution;
• Relate local phenomena, such as changing gender roles, children and youth in war, lived vulnerabilities, and displacement, to global phenomena, such as media coverage, humanitarian and military intervention, and arms trade.

Content

In discussing culture and other relevant key concepts in anthropology, the course shows how war and armed conflict are both world making and world breaking. Through a selection of ethnographic case studies, the significance of war and armed conflict as local experience is emphasized in relation to subsistence strategies, social relations and vulnerabilities. The political dimension of narratives about war is discussed, as is the post-colonial critique of the dominance of Euro-American knowledge production in circumstances of political violence.

Instruction

The course consists of lectures and seminars based on readings, and examination of visual materials such as films and media images. Participation in seminars is mandatory. The language of instruction is English.

Assessment

The course grade is based on active participation and the writing of short seminar papers and a final essay. The grades are pass with distinction (VG), pass (G), fail (U).