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Høst 2019
SVF-3022 Culture, Conflict and Society - 10 stp
The course is administrated by
Type of course
Course contents
The course enables students to critically analyse and evaluate the relevance of contextual cultural and societal issues in efforts at understanding violent conflicts and peace-building. It applies perspectives from anthropology, religious studies and psychology to conflicts, peace and conflict transformation. It represents an attempt to conceptualise violent conflicts and related issues as inter-subjective experiences with cultural and psychological dimensions.
The topics addressed include: Anthropological perspectives on culture and conflict; Anthropology of difference and images of the other; Ethnicity, nationalism and conflict; Psychology, health, war and peace; and symbolic meanings and cosmologies.
Application deadline
Applicants from Nordic countries: June 1st for the autumn semester and December 1st for the spring semester.
Applicants from outside the Nordic countries: October 1st for the spring semester and April 15th for the autumn semester.
Admission requirements
Objective of the course
Students who have successfully completed the course should have the following learning outcomes:
Knowledge
- have an understanding of diverse perspectives from anthropology, religious studies and psychology and how they relate to conflicts, peace and conflict transformation.
- have a conceptual understanding of violent conflicts and related issues as inter-subjective experiences with cultural and psychological dimensions.
Analytical understanding
- have the ability to explore the cultural and societal issues underlying violent conflicts and peace processes.
- have the ability to determine how different cultural groups conceptualize and respond to violence.
- have the ability to explore the broad issues informing inter-subjective and inter/intra-group experiences in violent conflict situations.
Skills and competences
- capable of relating perspectives from anthropology, psychology, and religious studies to conflicts and peace processes.
- capable of bringing inter-cultural understandings to bear on violent conflicts and peace-building processes.
- capable of taking responsibility for one's own learning by working independently towards the realisation of the course objectives.
Language of instruction
Teaching methods
There will be a mix of lectures and seminar discussions.
The course is to be evaluated by the SSL forum each semester the course is offered, as well as in an anonymous online evaluation every second time the course is offered.
Assessment
Towards the end of the course, the students will be divided into pairs to make oral presentations (max 10 minutes) on a topic related to cultural, religious or psychological issues in their home countries or a chosen country/region vis-à-vis practices in other contexts. These presentations shall draw upon the course readings.
Candidates will write a school examination of 6 hours, consisting of both short questions and one essay question.
Grading is on the scale of A to F, where F is Fail.
A re-sit exam will be arranged for this course.
Date for examination
The date for the exam can be changed. The final date will be announced at your faculty early in May and early in November.