UPM 6001 |
UPEACE Foundation Course
UPM 6001-UPEACE Foundation Course3CreditsThe UPEACE Foundation Course provides a critical and concise introduction to the broad field of “Peace Studies” for students in all UPEACE programmes. It initially addresses key conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of the origins and development of peace studies as an interdisciplinary area within the fields of international relations and political economy, as well as a basic understanding of conflict analysis. Based on a critical analysis of policies, strategies, policies, institutions, organizations, and movements, the course then examines a range of core issues, dimensions, perspectives, and paradigms for understanding the root causes of conflicts and violence and constructive strategies to address them and build peace in contemporary global, international, regional, national and local contexts, including conflict management, conflict resolution, and conflict transformation; alternative discourse analysis; militarization and disarmament; human rights violations and promotion; gender inequalities, gender-based violence and gender mainstreaming; structural violence, human security, development and globalization; environmental sustainability; corporate social responsibility; cultural and religious identities; media’s role in conflict and peacebuilding; strategies of nonviolence; and peace education. This Foundations course will be essential in catalyzing the awareness, understanding, and motivation of UPEACE students from diverse academic programmes to relate, ground, or intersect their specific areas of academic and practitioner interest with core theoretical, conceptual, and analytical ideas in peace studies.
|
Mandatory |
UPEACE Resident Faculty()
Amr Abdalla(Egypt/United States)
Amr AbdallaEgypt/United States
Professor Emeritus, University for Peace
Dr. Abdalla is a Professor Emeritus at the University for Peace (UPEACE), and the Scholar in Residence at the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies at Juniata College, Pennsylvania. He is also the Senior Advisor on Conflict Resolution at the Washington-based organization KARAMAH (Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights).
From 2014 to 2017, he was the Senior Advisor on Policy Analysis and Research at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) of Addis Ababa University. In 2013-2014, he was Vice President of SALAM Institute for Peace and Justice in Washington, DC. From 2004-2013 he was Professor, Dean and Vice Rector at UPEACE. Prior to that, he was a Senior Fellow with the Peace Operations Policy Program, School of Public Policy, at George Mason University, Virginia. He was also a Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Leesburg, Virginia.
Both his academic and professional careers are multi-disciplinary. He obtained a law degree in Egypt in 1977, where he practiced law as a prosecuting attorney from 1978 to 1986. From 1981-1986, he was a member of the public prosecutor team investigating the case of the assassination of President Sadat and numerous other terrorism cases. He then emigrated to the US, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Sociology and a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University. He has been teaching graduate classes in conflict analysis and resolution and has conducted training, research, and evaluation of conflict resolution and peacebuilding programs in numerous countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.
He has been an active figure in promoting inter-faith dialogue and effective cross-cultural messages through workshops and community presentations in the United States and beyond. He pioneered the development of the first conflict resolution teaching and training manual for Muslim communities titled (“…Say Peace”).
He also founded Project LIGHT (Learning Islamic Guidance for Human Tolerance), a community peer-based anti-discrimination project funded by the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ). In 2011, he established with Egyptian UPEACE graduates a program for community prevention of sectarian violence in Egypt (Ahl el Hetta). In 2018 he led the publication of the first Arabic Glossary of Terms in Peace and Conflict Studies in cooperation with UNDP-Iraq and the Iraqi Amal Association.
|
3 |
3 weeks (Including one double session. Friday 15 September 2023 is a Holiday) |
28-Aug-2023 14-Sep-2023 |
8:45 a.m.-11:45 a.m. |
Council Room |
RMSED 6047 |
Development Studies and International Cooperation
RMSED 6047 -Development Studies and International Cooperation3CreditsThis course is an introduction to development studies and international cooperation. The course covers the historical origins of development thinking in the post colonial world. It reviews modernization theory and the implications it had for foreign policy during the cold war period. This is contrasted with a critical review of dependency theories and structuralism. The course then uncovers the precepts of the Washington consensus as an introduction to the thinking of Amartya Sen and the world of alternative participatory development, the fields of popular education and participatory learning and action. This review (first week of the course) combines the description of developmental theories and concepts, with a deconstruction of the policies pursued by the man development agencies (World Bank, UN Agencies, BINGOS, CBOs, etc.). The second week of the course introduces students to the sustainable development goals and the concept of multilateralism. The SDGs are presented as a set of indicators that can lead humanity towards collective action for urgent systemic change. The final week of the course explores key current hot topics in development practice Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss, Gender Mainstreaming, Disaster Risk Reduction and Multistakeholder Partnerships.
|
Mandatory |
Kifah Sasa Marin(Costa Rica / Jordan )
Kifah Sasa MarinCosta Rica / Jordan
Kifah Sasa es el Oficial de Programa de Desarrollo Sostenible y Resiliencia del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo en Costa Rica. Desde el año 2009 funge como asesor senior del Programa Green Commodities, asesorando gobiernos y socios clave de cadenas productivas alrededor del mundo sobre cómo mejorar desempeño ambiental de materias primas. Kifah ha trabajado por el desarrollo social y el medio ambiente desde hace 17 años en diferentes facetas. Desde liderar y crear organizaciones parar apoyar grupos de base y comunitarios de manera voluntaria; hasta asesorar ministros centroamericanos de Integración Social, Vivienda y Salud en temas el manejo de proyectos regionales. Desde hace una década está vinculado al Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarollo en temas de biodiversidad, conservación marina, economía ambiental; cadenas productivas sostenibles de commodities agrícolas. Desde hace 5 años es también responsable de la cartera de Desarrollo Sostenible de esa agencia en Costa Rica. Se formó en el Reino Unido (Middlesex, BA, MA), Holanda (ISS, Post Dip) y Costa Rica.
Kifah Sasa is Sustainable Development Program Officer for the United Nations Development Programme in Costa Rica. Since 2009 he works as senior advisor for the Green Commodities Programme, advising governments and supply chain stakeholders on how to improve the environmental and social performance of commodity supply chains. Kifah has worked for social development and the environment for 17 years in different roles. From setting up and leading NGOs to support community organizations on a voluntary basis; to advising Central American Ministers of Social Integration, Housing and Health on the management of regional projects, as part of the Central American Integration System. For the past decade he has worked for the United Nations Development Programme, managing projects related to biodiversity conservation, marine protected areas, environmental economics; sustainable production of agricultural commodities and democratic dialogue. For the last 5 years he is responsible for UNDPs Sustainable Development portfolio in Costa Rica. He was trained in the United Kingdom (Middlesex, B.A, MA) and The Netherlands (ISS, Post Dip), Costa Rica.
|
3 |
3 weeks |
20-Sep-2023 10-Oct-2023 |
8:45 am-11:45 am |
|
UPM 6003 |
The United Nations System and...
UPM 6003-The United Nations System and UPMUNC (Part I)2CreditsThe course is intended to familiarize students with the creation, objectives, evolution, main entities, and principal areas of work of the United Nations system. The course will look in some detail at the United Nations Charter and the functions of the UN’s principal organs before delving into the UN’s work in spurring cooperation to address a number of key contemporary global challenges, such as those in the areas of sustainable development, international migration and large-scale refugee flows, and climate change and environmental degradation.
|
Mandatory |
Mihir Kanade(India)
Dr. Mihir Kanade (India) is the Academic Coordinator of UPEACE, the Head of its Department of International Law, and the Director of the UPEACE Human Rights Centre. He is also the academic co-coordinator of the LLM programme in Transnational Crime and Justice offered jointly by UPEACE and UNICRI in Turin, Italy. He holds an LL.B. from Nagpur University (India) and a Master degree and Doctorate from UPEACE. He is an adjunct/visiting faculty at Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio (Spain), Cheikh Anta Diop University (Senegal), Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia) and Long Island University (United States). His principal area of academic research and study is International Law, Human Rights and Globalization, covering several themes within that interface including armed conflicts, trade and investment, sustainable development, forced migration, indigenous peoples’ rights, public health, amongst others. He currently serves as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council's Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development in representation of the Asia-Pacific region. He also chairs the group of international experts mandated to elaborate the draft convention on the right to development. He has previously served on the International Advisory Board of the International Bar Association on the topic of Business and Human Rights. He leads an e-learning project of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on promoting the Right to Development. Prior to his pursuit in academia, Mihir practiced as a lawyer at the Bombay High Court and at the Supreme Court of India.
Guest Speakers()
|
2 |
2 weeks |
16-Oct-2023 27-Oct-2023 |
8:45 a.m.-11:45 a.m. |
Council Room |
RMSED-6059 |
Geopolitics and Geoeconomics in the...
RMSED-6059-Geopolitics and Geoeconomics in the 21st Century3CreditsThe world of the 21st century faces a series of challenges that threaten political, economic, social and environmental stability, endangering the very existence of the planet. To meet these challenges, the international community proposed a series of global objectives with the aim of achieving a kind of stability and guaranteeing maximum well-being for humanity in general, as well as for the various forms of life that inhabit the planet.
To understand the feasibility of these global goals proposed towards 2030, it is necessary to study their materiality on the ground, together with their interaction with political, economic, socio-cultural and geographical factors, and the ways in which these goals can be achieved through respect for nature, people's well-being and peace.
Specifically, the course is designed for the University for Peace Master's programs, Responsible Management and Sustainable Economic Development, and Development Studies and Diplomacy. The purpose of this course is framed within Development Studies through the use of analytical tools from geopolitics and geoeconomics for a better understanding of the relationship between the Sustainable Development Goals, the global situation in the XXI century and critical reflection for the approach of collective proposals for their realization
|
Mandatory |
Bryan González(Costa Rican)
Bryan GonzálezCosta Rican
Bryan González Hernández has a PhD in Latin American Studies with emphasis in Latin American Thought. He also has a Masters degree in Latin American Studies in Culture and Development as well as a B.A. in International Relations with emphasis in Foreign Policy and Diplomacy. His research has focused on topics such as Critical Studies of Development and Climate Change; Security and Geopolitics; International and Latin American Politics. Has worked as coordinator of a Master's Program in Latin American Studies at the National University of Costa Rica; professor in public and private universities in Costa Rica; and as associate researcher in national and international research centers, such as Latinia – Observatory of Latin America in Spain and the Centre for Studies on Geopolitics and Foreign Affairs in Brazil. He also worked on an educational and research project on socio-environmental issues called Escuela de la Tierra, while collaborating in the promotion of environmental education for a Wildlife Refuge in southern Costa Rica
|
3 |
3 weeks |
30-Oct-2023 17-Nov-2023 |
8:45 am-11:45 am |
|
DED 6034 |
Forest, Forestry and Poverty
DED 6034 -Forest, Forestry and Poverty3CreditsDeforestation is considered one of the main global environmental challenges of our times, because of its significant impact on biodiversity and its important contribution to Climate Change and Global Warming, as well as on the livelihoods of millions of people. This course analyzes the way deforestation and forest degradation have been and are being explained by both mainstream and alternative narratives. It critically engages with the way deforestation is defined and measured and discusses the various attempts in stopping or reducing it. We will look at a range of conservation approaches that go from traditional protected areas over community-based strategies, and the increasingly common market-based approaches and finally forest restoration. Illegal logging and timber trade will be looked at as a specific topic of particular importance since it is linked to development, poverty, and violent conflict. Additionally, this course looks at the links between poverty and deforestation, some of the possible strategies to reduce poverty through forest-based activities, and analyzes and discusses the importance of forests for humans and the challenges faced by those who try to manage them sustainably.
|
Optional |
Jan Breitling(Germany)
Dr. Jan Breitling (Germany) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environment and Development at University for Peace. Originally trained as a Forest Engineer in the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, he holds a MSc. in Environmental Sciences from Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands, and a PhD from the University for Peace. His research interests include the political ecology of forest cover change, climate change and climate security, and the role of ecotourism in conservation and community resilience to change.
|
3 |
3 weeks |
22-Nov-2023 13-Dec-2023 |
8:45pm-11:50pm |
|
DED 6054 |
Coastal Resource Management
DED 6054-Coastal Resource Management3CreditsAround 40% of the world’s population currently lives within 100 km of the coast, and nearly all humanity benefits from the world’s coasts and oceans for a variety of cultural, economic, and environmental reasons. Despite, or perhaps because, of their value to social and ecological processes, marine resources face increasing pressures and conflicts over their utilization. Additionally, climate change acts as a main driver of major oceanic and coastal threats.
As a response to the evident crises of coastal resources, we have been able to move away from a proclaimed inexhaustibility of the ocean, predominant in Western societies in the 19th century, to the development of tools intended to help stakeholders, from the local to the national and international levels, to protect and to manage these resources more equitably, effectively, and sustainably.
In this course, we will identify major challenges and threats to the world’s oceans and coasts and their impact on coastal populations. We will look into different coastal ecosystems, their functions and importance. In addition to that, we will become familiarized with innovations, strategies, and management tools related to coastal resource management. Finally, through practical exercises, guest lectures, and field visits, students will be able to explore the complex nexus of relations between humans and coastal/marine resources as it applies to Latin America and the case of Costa Rica.
|
Mandatory |
Clara Ramin(Germany)
Clara Ramin holds a Master’s degree in Environment, Development, and Peace with specialization in Sustainable Natural Resource Management. She is a Researcher and Academic Support Officer at the Department of Environment and Development, at the University for Peace. Her research is focused on the nexus between agriculture, water access, and climate change and is based mainly in rural communities in industrial agricultural landscapes.
Currently, Clara Ramin is leading research on water management in agricultural landscapes in collaboration with the Global Institute for Water Security (University of Saskatchewan) and is designing a research programme on river rights as an innovative tool to support community health and environmental peace building in agricultural landscapes. Lastly, for the past 4 years, Clara has been coordinating a summer research school around water security, sustainable farming, and indigenous worldviews on environmental conservation together with Upeace, American University and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences
|
3 |
3 weeks |
22-Nov-2023 13-Dec-2023 |
- |
|
DED 6084 |
Social Research Methods
DED 6084-Social Research Methods3CreditsIn this course we will critically examine research methodology. Our course is designed to take student sequentially through the process of thinking about and designing research. Together, we will explore the basic structure of research and examine the philosophical origins of different research approaches. I will guide students as they learn to link different information-gathering methods to different research approaches. My emphasis will be on qualitative research methodology but we will introduce quantitative data gathering and sampling. To ensure that students gain hands on experience with the process of developing methodologies and implementing different information gathering procedures, I will complement lectures with workshops where students will learn by doing. Furthermore, I believe that learning about methods requires analyzing how these methods have worked (or not) in real world case studies; thus, in class discussions of current case studies will complement workshops and lectures.
|
Mandatory |
Olivia Sylvester(Canada)
Olivia Sylvester, holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Environmental Management and is the Head of the Environment & Development Department at the University for Peace as well as an Associate professor. She is also an adjunct professor for Oregon State University. For over a decade, Dr. Sylvester’s research program has focused on sustainable food systems, agroecology, Indigenous and feminist methodologies, food security/sovereignty, gender, and climate/environmental justice; she has published 30 articles and book chapters on these topics. Dr. Sylvester has also worked closely with Indigenous communities in Costa Rica to develop protocols for ethical research. She is currently the coordinator of one MA programme (Environment, Development & Peace) and two MSc programmes (Water Cooperation & Diplomacy and Ecology & Society) and teaches across these programmes. Dr. Sylvester is also a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the International Society of Ethnobiology, and the Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage Project, and the Society for Agriculture and Human Values. Being active within these networks allows her to work at the interface of policy and practice.
|
3 |
3 weeks |
08-Jan-2024 26-Jan-2024 |
8:45 am-11:45 am |
|
DED 6050 |
Climate Change Governance
DED 6050-Climate Change Governance3CreditsClimate change has been described as one of the biggest challenges humanity faces, since it has and increasingly will affect all human activities and life of all species. The way we organize our national and global society, our economy, will impact our potential for peace, development, wellbeing, and security, as well as all forms of life. A prime example of both global environmental change and global governance challenge, climate change continues to evade all past and present attempts of multilateral, national and local governance. Even though thousands of experts have been meeting annually over the last 30 years do discuss and negotiate, green house gas emissions have been growing at alarming rates.
This course introduces key concepts of and the general state of knowledge on climate change science, and the debates around science, policy, and politics. Second, the course goes over the history of mainstream multilateral climate change governance institutions and analyzes the increasingly diverse actors in climate change governance networks, at local, national and regional levels. Third, this course analyzes the increasingly apparent shortcomings of multilateral mainstream governance institutions to recognize the urgency and to act in meaningful ways to address this global and local crisis. Finally, the course discusses proposals of vision and action towards a much-needed sustainability transformation in economic, social, political, and ecological terms.
|
Optional |
Jan Breitling(Germany)
Dr. Jan Breitling (Germany) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environment and Development at University for Peace. Originally trained as a Forest Engineer in the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, he holds a MSc. in Environmental Sciences from Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands, and a PhD from the University for Peace. His research interests include the political ecology of forest cover change, climate change and climate security, and the role of ecotourism in conservation and community resilience to change.
|
3 |
3 weeks |
31-Jan-2024 20-Feb-2024 |
- |
|
DED 6094 |
Development and Conflict in Practice:...
DED 6094 -Development and Conflict in Practice: role and application of sustainability frameworks in development projects3CreditsThe course looks into the role and application of sustainability frameworks in development projects and examines how their implementation influences local dynamics. The course introduces the main international frameworks that influence development finance institutions (DFIs) and private sector development, such as the World Bank ES Safeguards, IFC Performance Standards, Equator Principles, among others. It also focuses on the dynamics and drivers of conflict around development projects and the role of existing accountability and grievance mechanisms. The course dynamics include case studies, simulations and role play.
|
Mandatory |
Maria Rita Borba(Brazil)
Maria Rita Manzano Borba has over 15 years of diverse professional and academic experience. During this period, her interests and work have focused on the intersection of development, natural resources, and conflict. Maria Rita has worked across geographies and developed solid multi-cultural communication skills to engage and liaise with the public and private sectors, local communities and international organizations in dynamic and complex environments. She has worked for consulting companies, think tanks, extractive industries, and international organizations such as the UNHCR and IFC. Maria Rita holds two Master degrees, in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and in Human Geography from the University of Sao Paulo. A Brazilian national.
|
3 |
3 weeks |
26-Feb-2024 15-Mar-2024 |
8:45 am-11:45 am |
|
DED 6043 |
Urban Sustainability
DED 6043 -Urban Sustainability3CreditsBy 2050, it is estimated that two-thirds of the world’s population will live in an urban environment. In many countries in the developing world, this is already a reality, with 80-90% of their populations living in cities, with increasing and rapid rates of urbanization. Increased urban population growth, paired with other socio-economic realities that are characteristic to cities, poses enormous challenges to ensure quality of life and wellbeing for everyone, leaving no one behind. Urban sustainability goes beyond how "green" a city is. This course will be based on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities and the New Urban Agenda, and will provide an understanding on how sustainability in cities is a multi-variable concept, interconnected with other SDGs and issues such as urban planning, transport planning and design, inequality, climate action, health, gender, economic development, among others. You will learn from case studies, articles, reports and the experience of experts in the field, in addition to gaining tools and developing skills that will help you propose strategies, projects and policies to improve your community, town or city in order to make it more sustainable.
|
Mandatory |
TBA .()
|
3 |
3 weeks |
22-Apr-2024 10-May-2024 |
1:00pm-3:50pm |
|
DED 6095 |
Gender, Environment, and Development
DED 6095-Gender, Environment, and Development3CreditsThis course will focus on the linkages between gender, environment, economy, and human development. We will examine key contemporary environmental issues such as climate change, food security, the green economy, low-carbon development and degrowth; access to water, sanitation, and energy; pollution; and biodiversity conservation from the perspective(s) of gender equality. The course will explore how sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, colonialism, imperialism, and other forms of oppression have shaped and continue to shape environmental discourses, and how we might confront and subvert such hierarchies and inequalities. Course materials will include academic and non-academic literature (including policy and journalistic literature), activist texts, fiction, and film.
|
Mandatory |
Bipasha Baruah(Canada)
Bipasha Baruah is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Women’s Issues at Western University. Professor Baruah earned a PhD in environmental studies from York University, Toronto. She specializes in interdisciplinary research at the intersections of gender, economy, environment, and development. Most of her current research aims to understand how to ensure that a global low-carbon economy will be more gender equitable and socially just than its fossil-fuel based predecessor. Author of a book and more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and other works, Professor Baruah serves frequently as an expert reviewer and advisor to Canadian and intergovernmental environmental protection and international development organizations.
|
3 |
3 weeks |
13-May-2024 31-May-2024 |
8:45 am-11:45 am |
|
UPM-6003 |
The United Nations System and...
UPM-6003-The United Nations System and UPMUNC (Part II)1CreditsThe UPEACE Model United Nations Conference (UPMUNC) is the second part of a composite three credit course that begins with the two-credit introductory course on the United Nations System, taught in the first semester. Through a simulation of UN bodies, committees, procedures, and codes of conduct, this immersive and experiential educational exercise encourages the application of knowledge gained in previous courses, including an understanding of the objectives and functions of the United Nations system, as well as the development of professional skills related to research, public speaking, negotiation, mediation of conflict, and the preparation of official documents.
Historically, the conference has been open to outside participants from colleges and universities both regionally and internationally, presenting additional possibilities for networking, dialogue, and educational exchange among all participants. UPMUNC is further enriched by special events, which typically include a panel of invited speakers, a diplomatic reception, an awards ceremony, and a closing celebration.
|
Mandatory |
UPEACE Resident Faculty()
Mihir Kanade(India)
Dr. Mihir Kanade (India) is the Academic Coordinator of UPEACE, the Head of its Department of International Law, and the Director of the UPEACE Human Rights Centre. He is also the academic co-coordinator of the LLM programme in Transnational Crime and Justice offered jointly by UPEACE and UNICRI in Turin, Italy. He holds an LL.B. from Nagpur University (India) and a Master degree and Doctorate from UPEACE. He is an adjunct/visiting faculty at Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio (Spain), Cheikh Anta Diop University (Senegal), Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia) and Long Island University (United States). His principal area of academic research and study is International Law, Human Rights and Globalization, covering several themes within that interface including armed conflicts, trade and investment, sustainable development, forced migration, indigenous peoples’ rights, public health, amongst others. He currently serves as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council's Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development in representation of the Asia-Pacific region. He also chairs the group of international experts mandated to elaborate the draft convention on the right to development. He has previously served on the International Advisory Board of the International Bar Association on the topic of Business and Human Rights. He leads an e-learning project of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on promoting the Right to Development. Prior to his pursuit in academia, Mihir practiced as a lawyer at the Bombay High Court and at the Supreme Court of India.
|
1 |
3 days |
03-Jun-2024 05-Jun-2024 |
8:45am.-3:45pm. |
Council Room |