MD546/646: Relief, Refugees and
Conflict (4 units)
Bryant Myers, Professor
of International Development
Spring 2008
DESCRIPTION:
This
course explores the plight of refugees and internally displaced people fleeing
the results of conflict and natural disasters. The humanitarian response is
explored from a number of perspectives, including a biblical perspective. The
changing and highly complex nature of the humanitarian world is explored,
seeking to identify the role and contribution of Christian agencies and
churches.
LEARNING
OUTCOMES:
1. Ability to articulate the history and
development of the humanitarian response and to describe and critique
humanitarian actors
2. Able to articulate a Biblical
framework for refugees and Catholic social teaching on care of refugees
3. Able to describe and apply an
understanding of the changing, increasingly complex, world of humanitarian
response -- ethics and hard choices
4. Basic understanding of relief in the
context of conflicts, including a bias toward peace building.
5. Basic familiarity with the care and
feeding of the relief practitioner -- stress, security and spirituality
COURSE
FORMAT: This course will meet as a two-week intensive for 3-hour sessions each
weekday. A presentation, case study and
discussion format will be used, with occasional use of small groups.
REQUIRED
1.
2. Myers, Bryant. “Humanitarian
Response: Christians in Response to Uprooted Peoples,” paper written for the
Holistic Mission track of Lausanne 2004. (In Reader)
3. Minear, Larry. The Humanitarian
4. Lindenberg, Mark and Bryant, Coralie.
Going Global: Transforming the Relief and Development NGOs. Kumarian,
2001.
5. Ignatieff, Michael. A Warrior’s
Honor: Ethnic War and the Modern Conscience. Henry Holt, 1997.
6. Myers, Bryant, Walking With the Poor:
Principles and Practices of Transformational Development.. Orbis
(NY) 1999. Chapters 2, 3, 5 and 6.
7. de Waal, Alex. Famine Crimes:
Politics and the Disaster Relief Industry in
8. Terry, Fiona. Condemned to Repeat:
The Paradox of Humanitarian Action.
9. Anderson, Mary. Do No Harm: How
Aid Can Support Peace – Or War. Lynne Rienner, 1999, Chapters 1-6. (On
reserve in library)
10. Macrae, Joanna. “The New Humanitarianisms: A Review of Trends in Global
Humanitarian Action,” HPG Report 11, April 2002. Humanitarian Policy Group,
Overseas Development Institute (
11. Macrae, Joanna and Harmer, Adele. “Humanitarian Action and the Global War
on Terrorism: A Review of Trends and Issues,” HPG Report 14, July 2003.
Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute (
12. The Sphere Project. “Code of Conduct for ICRC and NGOs in Disaster Relief,”
The Sphere Project: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster
Response. 2004 Edition. Downloadable from http://sphereproject.org.content/view/27/84. (On reserve at the library)
13. Course reader.
RECOMMENDED
1. Janz,
Mark and Slead, Joann. Complex Humanitarian Emergencies: Lessons from
Practitioners, MARC/World Vision, 2000.
2. Rieff, David. A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis. Simon
and Schuster, 2002.
3. UNHCR, State of the World’s Refugees 2004, Oxford University Press,
2005.
4. International Federation of the Red Cross, World Disasters Report,
2005.
5.
6. Cuny, Fred. Famine, Conflict and Response: A Basic Guide, INTERTECT
1994.
7. Slim, Hugo. “Doing the Right Thing: Relief Agencies, Moral Dilemmas and
Moral Responsibility in Political Emergencies and War,” Studies in
Emergencies and Disaster Relief, No. 6. Nodiska Africainstitutet,
1997. Downloadable from
http:/www.nai.uu.se/publications/books/book.xml?id=24742
8. Whaites, Alan. “NGOs, Disasters and Advocacy: Caught between the Prophet and
the Shepherd Boy”, Development in Practice (Oxfam), Vol 10, No 3 and 4,
2000. (In “Debating Development,” an Oxfam Development in Practice
reader on reserve in library)
9. Slim, Hugo. “Sharing a Universal Ethic: The Principle of Humanity in War,” International
Journal of Human Rights, June, 1998.
(On reserve in library)
10. Charles Rogers and Brian Sytsma. World Vision Security Manual: Safety
Awareness for Aid Workers, World Vision 1999.
11. Fawcett, John (Ed.). Stress and Trauma Handbook: Strategies for
Flourishing in Demanding Contexts. World Vision 2003.
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. In teams of 4-6, students will do a
presentation and lead a discussion afterwards (total one-hour) on a
humanitarian organization. The purpose is to summarize and critique the 1)
origins and motivations, 2) specialisms, and 3) explicit and implicit
understanding of causes of refugees and theory of humanitarian based on the
materials on its website. The following will be assigned on the first day of
class: Oxfam, CARE, Médicin Sans Frontièrs/Doctors Without Borders, Catholic
Relief Services and United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR).
2. A 3000 to 3750-word paper showing
connections to course material on a topic related to the course, agreed to by
the professor. Paper format: MS Word, 11 point Gil Sans or other readable type.
Electronic version only emailed to professor. One-grade reduction for each week
paper is late. Grade based equally on quality of research, connections to course
materials and quality of writing.
ThM Students additional assignment: 1250-word paper
describing a substantive addition to or criticism of the lecture material on a
theology of refugees and relief. Subject to be agreed to by professor. Format:
MS Word, 11 point Gil Sans or other readable type. Electronic version only
emailed to professor. One-grade reduction for each week paper is late.
FINAL
EXAM: None.
PREREQUISITES:
None.
RELATIONSHIP
TO CURRICULUM: Elective.