Teaching and Supervision
I really enjoy teaching at undergraduate, graduate and continued professional development levels. My teaching approach combines lectures, case studies, critical dialogue, group work and practice. In the Cambridge tradition, I also place great value on individualized academic supervision (mentoring) of students, for extending critical understanding of taught subjects and for strengthening students' academic research and writing skills.
My Teaching Philosophy and Methods statement can be read here.
Courses I have recently designed and taught include:
Education and Armed Conflict
Armed conflict remains an everyday reality in many parts of the contemporary world, creating specific challenges for the provision of formal schooling. Drawing on international monitoring reports and research, we examine ways in which the physical and political dimensions of armed conflict directly affect access to and provision of education for children and youth. Through case studies, we examine reasons why education is often a target in conflict contexts, how international legal frameworks affect the monitoring of attacks against education, how education itself can contribute to deepening conflict dynamics. We then examine international guidelines for designing ‘conflict-sensitive’ education interventions that can provide children and young people with access to safe, quality and relevant education. Particular attention is given to psychosocial needs of children and adults in violence-affected schools, the challenges of reintegrating former child soldiers, and educational provision for refugees in camp settings and national school systems.
Peace Education
As societies around the world face increasingly complex forms of conflict and violence, what is the role of education in building capacities for peace? What peace competences do 21st century students and institutions need? Which pedagogies and policies are most conducive to acquiring them? And what challenges does education for peace face in contexts of structural violence, armed conflict and migration? This course explores the opportunities and challenges associated with addressing the roots of violence and building peace through education, in both ‘stable’ and ‘fragile’ contexts. The course examines: 1) the causes of violence and the nature of peace; 2) the role of education in both conflict and peacebuilding; 3) the evolution of the peace education movement; 4)the roles of teachers, students, curriculum and policy in creating peaceful schools and communities; and 5) the efficacy of peace education in diverse contexts of conflict, social injustice and violence.
Teaching and Learning about Genocide
How should histories of genocide be taught? What pedagogies are most effective? Should education about the Holocaust and other genocides be optional or obligatory in schools? What moral, cultural and political purposes may education about genocide serve? How does education about histories of atrocity serve and detract from statebuilding and international human rights agendas? Can teaching about genocide ever be politically neutral? If not, what are the implications? Drawing on international case studies, this course examines contrasting approaches to and uses of genocide education, and raises questions about whether and how learning about genocide can contribute to 21st century peace. Particular attention is given to the educational implications of how genocide is variously defined in international law, in genocide scholarship and among national memorial institutions, as well as the pedagogical strengths, limitations and ethics of various methods for engaging with histories of mass atrocity in the classroom.
Peace Psychology
This course provides an introduction to the psychology of human violence—its roots, causes and effects on individuals, groups and societies—and the psychology underlying successful efforts to build cultures of peace in individuals, families, communities and nations. Each week is structured to explore certain key concepts and issues, including: psychological and psychosocial theories and research on the causes and effects of human aggression and violence at the individual, group and international levels; psychosocial approaches to violence prevention and recovery; psychological foundations for building peace at the individual, group and international levels. The course combines lectures, video clips, case analyses, critical discussion and reflection aimed at increasing understanding of these topics and their implications for field practice in settings affected by conflict, violence and fragility.
Other topics I have taught include:
My Teaching Philosophy and Methods statement can be read here.
Courses I have recently designed and taught include:
Education and Armed Conflict
Armed conflict remains an everyday reality in many parts of the contemporary world, creating specific challenges for the provision of formal schooling. Drawing on international monitoring reports and research, we examine ways in which the physical and political dimensions of armed conflict directly affect access to and provision of education for children and youth. Through case studies, we examine reasons why education is often a target in conflict contexts, how international legal frameworks affect the monitoring of attacks against education, how education itself can contribute to deepening conflict dynamics. We then examine international guidelines for designing ‘conflict-sensitive’ education interventions that can provide children and young people with access to safe, quality and relevant education. Particular attention is given to psychosocial needs of children and adults in violence-affected schools, the challenges of reintegrating former child soldiers, and educational provision for refugees in camp settings and national school systems.
Peace Education
As societies around the world face increasingly complex forms of conflict and violence, what is the role of education in building capacities for peace? What peace competences do 21st century students and institutions need? Which pedagogies and policies are most conducive to acquiring them? And what challenges does education for peace face in contexts of structural violence, armed conflict and migration? This course explores the opportunities and challenges associated with addressing the roots of violence and building peace through education, in both ‘stable’ and ‘fragile’ contexts. The course examines: 1) the causes of violence and the nature of peace; 2) the role of education in both conflict and peacebuilding; 3) the evolution of the peace education movement; 4)the roles of teachers, students, curriculum and policy in creating peaceful schools and communities; and 5) the efficacy of peace education in diverse contexts of conflict, social injustice and violence.
Teaching and Learning about Genocide
How should histories of genocide be taught? What pedagogies are most effective? Should education about the Holocaust and other genocides be optional or obligatory in schools? What moral, cultural and political purposes may education about genocide serve? How does education about histories of atrocity serve and detract from statebuilding and international human rights agendas? Can teaching about genocide ever be politically neutral? If not, what are the implications? Drawing on international case studies, this course examines contrasting approaches to and uses of genocide education, and raises questions about whether and how learning about genocide can contribute to 21st century peace. Particular attention is given to the educational implications of how genocide is variously defined in international law, in genocide scholarship and among national memorial institutions, as well as the pedagogical strengths, limitations and ethics of various methods for engaging with histories of mass atrocity in the classroom.
Peace Psychology
This course provides an introduction to the psychology of human violence—its roots, causes and effects on individuals, groups and societies—and the psychology underlying successful efforts to build cultures of peace in individuals, families, communities and nations. Each week is structured to explore certain key concepts and issues, including: psychological and psychosocial theories and research on the causes and effects of human aggression and violence at the individual, group and international levels; psychosocial approaches to violence prevention and recovery; psychological foundations for building peace at the individual, group and international levels. The course combines lectures, video clips, case analyses, critical discussion and reflection aimed at increasing understanding of these topics and their implications for field practice in settings affected by conflict, violence and fragility.
Other topics I have taught include:
- Introduction to Conflict and Peace Studies
- Peace Education
- Intercultural Dialogue
- Non-Violent Communication
- Social-Psychology of Intergroup Conflict
- Psychological Dimensions of Human Aggression, Violence and Healing
- Peacebuilding and Reconciliation in Contexts of Historical and Cultural Trauma
- Teaching and Learning about Genocide
- Transitional Justice and Reconciliation
- War, Gender and Peacebuilding
- Youth, Security and Peacebuilding
- Critical Perspectives on Peacebuilding
- Education in Contexts of Armed Conflict
- Effective Grant-writing
- Peacebuilding Project Management
- Peacebuilding Impact Evaluation
- Qualitative Social Research Methods
- Ethics of Research and Intervention in Conflict-Affected Settings