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Poslední úprava: BURESO (03.08.2010)
Please note that the course will be given in 6 seminars that will take place once every two weeks of the winter semester. The first seminar will take place on October 6, 2009. Important note on course availability: This course is primarily intended for students enrolled in the Security Studies and/or International Relations Masters Degree Program(s), who will have preference in course enrollment. If too many students sign-up for this course, the instructor reserves the right to cancel the enrollment of any non-Security Studies/International Relations students for this course, even if they successfully register for it in the electronic registration system. (I hope I will not need to exercise this right!) Why take this course? United Nations peacekeeping is one of the hottest topics in contemporary international politics. Despite the fact that the word peacekeeping is not mentioned anywhere in the UN Charter, UN PKOs have traditionally placed high on the UN agenda. Over time, PKOs became one of the most visible of all UN activities and as such, they have also served as a yardstick with which the UN is judged by the people it is supposed to serve. As such, UN peacekeeping has also become a favorite object of scholarly research and analysis, especially in the post-cold war era. You will hopefully be a better citizen if you understand more fully major problems of conflict prevention, management and resolution. Many of you will be leaders in your various fields and will assume positions of responsibility. The more you are aware and knowledgeable about resolving conflicts non-violently, the more you may be able to save some lives, reduce violence and destruction, and make this planet a more peaceful place to live. It will help you professionally by teaching you to write, think, and speak more clearly and persuasively. Negotiation, bargaining, debate, writing and conflict resolution are part of any job and they are the heart of this course's subject matter and assignments. |
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Poslední úprava: BURESO (12.08.2011)
For the list of required readings for each class, please see the MS WORD version of the syllabus which is available among the files up-loaded for this course in the SIS system. Other recommended sources: On-line |
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Poslední úprava: BURESO (03.08.2010)
In the old days, students were seen to be an empty vessel into which the professor poured his or her knowledge. In recent years, however, however, this old-model of education has come under severe challenge. This instructor believes that rote memorization offers little to students (How often have you ?crammed? for a test and then forgotten everything you learned within a few weeks?).
The philosophy behind this course is that students learn better when that learning is active. The lectures and seminars will not be strictly separated. Instead, they will be combined in order to give students ample opportunities to actively participate in active learning in small group discussion, case studies, and simulations.
I hope and expect to have time for debate and discussion in every class. I will often refer to the required and recommended readings during lectures. You may wish to bring your readings to class so you can follow along. Aside from helping learn the materials, attendance will usually help your grade: I signal things that are important and that may be on the tests. I sometimes put things on tests that are only covered in the lectures. I often talk about how to write well and do well on the papers.
You are expected to attend all classes (with a maximum of one absence for the entire semester). You are also expected to actively participate in class discussions, considering, manipulating, testing, and questioning the topics presented in class in order to develop a genuine knowledge of UN peacekeeping and familiarity with the tools and concepts of Conflict Resolution and Political Science more broadly. Active class participation by all students also has the advantage of helping to foster tolerance for divergent viewpoints and developing students? abilities to formulate arguments in a well-reasoned manner. Active and competent class participation is crucial in this course and counts for 20% of the final course grade.
You are strongly encouraged to show respect for fellow students and the instructor by arriving for class on time. Late arrivals disturb fellow students and disrupt the learning process. It is better to come in late than not to come at all, but try to be respectful of classmates by making arrangements to be in class and in your seat at the start of class.
Please do not play computer games, surf the web, check email, or do anything other than take notes with your computers and other electronic devices. If you must do these rude and distracting activities, please sit in the back row so as not to disturb the more serious consumers. |
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Poslední úprava: BURESO (03.08.2010)
Final grade will be assigned based on: Active and competent class participation: maximum of 20 points Questions and comments on required readings: maximum of 20 points Group presentation: maximum of 25 points; Written ?take-home? final exam: maximum 35 points.
The grading standard will be as follows: ? A (=1): 88-100 points ? B (=2): 74-87 points ? C (=3): 50-73 points ? F (=Failed, no zápočet/Credit Course Unit earned): 0-49 points
Important Note: You can not pass the course unless you complete all of the assignments listed above. You can not pass the course if (for example) you have A's on all your assignments and then skip the final exam. Failure to complete the major paper(s), presentation(s) and the exam(s) is grounds for failure in the course, regardless of the percentage weights of each assignment.
Attendance to all classes is mandatory. If more than one class is missed by a student without a prior excuse, Credit Course Unit will not be signed and no grade will be given. Active and competent student participation is an essential part of this course!
Students are responsible for reading the assigned literature before coming to class. Prior to every class meeting, each student is required to prepare one written question and/or comment about the issues that s/he found interesting, controversial, and/or thought provoking in EACH of the required readings for the given seminar (e.g. 4 readings = 4 questions, 5 readings = 5 questions etc.). These questions and comments should be succinct 5-10 sentences long. They MUST be computer-typed and printed. They will be collected at the beginning of every class. Failure to turn in properly written questions & comments will be penalized by an automatic deduction of up to five points from the final class participation grade.
Personal Integrity Policy: This instructor believes academic honesty is the foundation of the entire enterprise of a university. The personal integrity policy works for both students and teachers. Students can expect that the instructor will treat them in a fair, honest, and impartial manner. The instructor also expects students to deal with him and with one another honestly. Plagiarism* and cheating are violations of academic honesty because they steal from the original creator of the work. In addition, they violate the relationship of honesty between student and teacher as the student attempts to pass off work as his or her own which was produced by another. Further, plagiarism and cheating violate the bond of honesty among students themselves. Students who produce their assignments through long, hard work are being violated by those taking a shortcut through the misappropriation of another?s work or knowledge. Most sadly, students who violate academic honesty cheat themselves of the chance to learn. Only in an environment of honesty can genuine learning occur and good citizenship be fostered.
Because academic honesty is treated as a serious matter, the course policy is one of zero tolerance for academic dishonesty. Cheating and plagiarism* will not be tolerated. If you are caught cheating at any point during the course, you will automatically fail the course.
PLAGIARISM ? The unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one?s own original work. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd ed. (New York: Random House, 1993).
Small group presentation guidelines: You are a member of a small group of UN peacekeeping experts. Together with 3-4 colleagues, you are going to attend an EU-sponsored conference entitled ?Peacekeeping: Lessons Learned from the Field.? You are a specialist on one of the post-Cold War UN peacekeeping operations (you will be assigned one of the three listed below in the syllabus). Your task is to brief the other attending delegations on the following themes:
1. Background of the conflict in the country where ?your? peacekeeping operation (PKO) took place? Who are/were were the major factions in the conflict? What was the conflict about? How has the conflict evolved over time and at what point in the conflict did the UN PKO force arrive? 2. What was the mandate of ?your? PKO? Has it changed over time? Did it address all major issues in the conflict? 3. Was the UN force the only intervening force in the area? Who else intervened in the conflict? How well did the interveners cooperate? 4. How big was your mission? Who contributed troops? Was there a civilian component to the UN PKO force? How much did the mission cost? 5. How did the UN mission go? How long did last? Was the mandate fulfilled? If not, why? What were some of the biggest challenges that the Blue Helmets faced in ?your? PKO? 6. What was the attitude of the local parties towards your PKO? How successful was the mission in terms of facilitating conflict resolution between the local parties? Would you say your mission was a success? Why yes? Why not? 7. What lessons can be learned from your PKO? What worked best? What did not work? Why?
The conference will take place in class scheduled for seminar no. 5 during our regular class meeting time. It is your responsibility to meet as a group well before your presentation is due and decide who will present what. It is not necessary for all members of the group to present at the conference but all group members must actively participate in the preparation of a presentation in the MS PowerPoint format (All group members will get the same grade for the presentation). Each group will have 25 minutes to present (you will be penalized for going over time). After your presentation, other conference participants will be invited to ask intriguing questions.
Literature for small group presentations: At the very minimum, you must read the articles listed for your country in the course syllabus. If you want a good grade for your presentations, however, you need to do some extra research on your own. I especially recommend browsing the official UN web-page of your operation and checking the university library?s e-journal resources for scholarly articles on your operation.
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Poslední úprava: BURESO (12.08.2011)
Please see the MS WORD version of the syllabus which is available among the files up-loaded for this course in the SIS system. |
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Poslední úprava: BURESO (07.09.2012)
Important note on course availability: This course is mandatory for students enrolled in the Security Studies Masters Degree Program, who will have preference in course enrollment. If too many students sign-up for this course, the instructor reserves the right to cancel the enrollment of any non-Security Studies students for this course, even if they successfully register for it in the electronic registration system (SIS). I hope I will not need to exercise this right! |