SSJ 30334 - Special Topics

SPRING 2025: SPECTACULAR VIOLENCE: GENOCIDE AND MASS ATROCITIES IN ASIA

What causes spectacular forms of political violence? What cultural factors shape the form and content of such violence where it results in mass death and, in some cases, genocide? What are the possibilities and limits of representing these immense tragedies to those people who did not directly experience them? And, finally, what are the ethical consequences of our answers? This multidisciplinary seminar will introduce students to key theoretical and methodological approaches towards answering these questions. To do so, the course will examine cases of extreme violence across Asia. Case studies, organized thematically, explore communal violence (India/Pakistan), politicide (Indonesia), mass rape as a weapon of war (Bangladesh), sexual servitude (Korea/Japan), and famine crimes (China), among others. The combined thematic/country approach will enable us to better understand the complex role cultural values and practices play in shaping such mass violence as spectacle, as well as the moral hazards of culturalist interpretations.

Summer 2024 Topic:

DISASTER MANAGEMENT, HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

Innovation in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance

Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (DMHA) is a rapidly evolving field that is being strongly influenced by abrupt climate change, pandemics, migration, and geopolitical and economic trends - including the pressure on democracies and the rise of authoritarian movements worldwide. In this course, students review trends in humanitarian assistance, and will also receive a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-certified foundation in the basic tenets of emergency management - preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.

Innovation in the DMHA field comes in many forms - including the development of complex simulations and serious gaming, design thinking, and refining a variety of methodologies used by international donor organizations, national governments, and NGOs.

At the conclusion of this course, students will have developed, prototyped, and written their own “complex simulation” focusing on a DMHA topic of their choosing - including the humanitarian synergies with climate, conflict, and pandemic stressors and/or geopolitical issues. Simulations and “serious games” are a way to shatter paradigms to bring new levels of perception during times of exponential change.

Fall 2024 Topics:

SECTION 01

SP TOP: CLIMATE NARRATIVES

Climate change is one of the most critical challenges of our time that demands not just scientific comprehension but also effective communication and action. This course explores the power of ‘narrative’, as a meaningful method of communicating ideas, histories, and experiences of climate change in different contexts. While often not prioritized as a policy and research tool, narrative is crucial in conveying the complexities of climate change, as well as in engaging diverse audiences, driving meaningful change, and shaping public perception. The course will offer students an entry point into the multifaceted world of climate narratives, drawing from historical and contemporary case studies. Students will also learn how narrative and discourse are influenced by the digital culture of our time, which shapes not just our understanding of climate issues, but the decisions we make as individuals, communities, and societies. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and exercises, students will develop the skills and knowledge needed to become effective climate communicators.

SECTION 02

ST:CLIMATE CHANGE & SYSTEM DYNAMIC MODELING

Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing humanity today, with far-reaching impacts on ecosystems, economies, and societies. This course provides students with knowledge and tools understand, mitigate, and adapt to the effects of climate change through systems dynamics modeling . By combining theory with practical exercises, students develop skills in systems thinking and modeling techniques to understand and address complex climate-related problems. Students will work in teams to develop a model based on real data and assess the impacts of climate change under a range of scenarios, culminating in a final presentation and report

This course was formerly listed as IDCE 30334.

 

Anticipated Terms Offered: Annually