Course Descriptions:

The course discusses the complex role played by the media - and the problems they face - in conflict situations, whether before, during and after the actual conflict. It also addresses the clashing relationships that often occur among media and governments, the military, other armed players and NGOs, international agencies and humanitarian organizations in these circumstances. The course provides a broad understanding of the modern history of media in conflict and war situations, and draws the distinction between information and propaganda, while explaining the ways in which media work and produce information and discusses the different roles they actually play - and the possible ones they could play. The course is intended as a general introduction on these topics. It analyses dozens of examples and draws lessons from contemporary experience.

“History,” wrote Arthur Schlesinger Jr., “is littered with the wreckage of states that tried to combine diverse ethnic or linguistic or religious groups within a single sovereignty.” And from Homer to the reporters embedded in Iraq, journalists -- or versions thereof -- have always been recording the conflict. In modern times, the idea has been that journalists remain detached and dispassionate – objective in the face of inhumanity around the world, from Indonesia and Africa, to Europe and South and Central America. But that’s only an ideal – a goal.

The course intends to gain a critical understanding of what role the media (newspapers, radio, television, Internet, blogs, citizens' journalism) has played in promoting peace in conflict or post-conflict situations in a range of Asian settings. Does the Asian experience suggest a useful model could be constructed of media development and involvement that could serve as a peace building tool in future conflicts?