TRS5902 - Religions, Justice and Peacemaking

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the various ways in which religious ideals, individuals and groups have provided impetus and means for justice and peace;
Assess and evaluate the various phenomena of religiously motivated violence and religious dimensions of selected conflict zones;
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of, and evaluate, the various phenomena of pacifism, non-violence, dialogue, secularism and other methods for peace-making and justice-building initiatives such as human rights, aid, advocacy and development;
Analyse and assess the theological, philosophical and scriptural arguments deployed in relation to violence and action for justice and peace-making;
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of contemporary world affairs and appreciation of their significance for peace and justice.

Content:

This module will focuses on the role played by religious resources, religious movements and religiously inspired individuals in initiatives for justice and peace. As well as peace movements and initiatives, the module also critically examines the religious dimensions of recent conflict situations. It interacts with the disciplines of peace studies and international affairs. Several different religious traditions will be included.

The module will include case studies of recent conflict situations. These may include:
• Irish Troubles
• Apartheid South Africa
• Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement
• Israel-Palestine
• Iraq War
• War on Terror
• Korean Peninsula
• Oscar Romero and El Salvador

Other indicative topics are:
• Engaged Buddhism
• Do religions cause war?
• History of pacifism
• Truth and reconciliation
• Nobel peace prize
• Just War
• Just Peace
• Jihad
• Gandhi’s non-violent method

Learning and Teaching Information:

Learning and teaching takes place in plenary sessions and using blended learning. It may also include group activities and also opportunities for individual help through face-to-face meeting or online means. Scheduled learning activities are varied and include include: lecture-style presentations by the module tutor or occasional guest speaker; seminar-style discussion of a particular topic; informal prepared presentations by students, followed by discussion; debates; and other exercises as appropriate to material and group. Students receive guidance on reading in preparation for each session and activity and learning is supported by the VLE (Moodle) and sometimes by readers and other resources. Guidance on research and essay-writing is integral to the learning and teaching process in each module and may also be supported by tutorial guidance on essay plans if requested.

Lectures
Contact hours: 20
intended Group size: 25

Seminars, group work, tutorials
Contact hours: 20
Intended group size: 3-25

Guided independent study
Hours: 160

Further details relating to assessment
The portfolio will normally include 3 x 600-700-word assignments spread across the semester.

Assessment: