MD546/646:
Relief, Refugees and Conflict (4 units)
Bryant Myers, Professor of International Development
Summer 2007
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, Médecins 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.
Last Date Edited: 4 April
2007