About This Course
Course Description
The course seeks to introduce students to the conceptσ of peace, conflict and violence, and analyze the role that media/journalists can play in conflict resolution and peace-building. Through a number of case studies, it examines how journalism can create opportunities to consider and value non-violent responses to conflict. In so doing, not only does it compare war journalism (the dominant paradigm, which generates a simplistic perception of significant events) to peace journalism (an alternative approach), but also examines techniques on how the reporting of war and violence (direct, structural, cultural) can be made more accurate and more useful by seeking the roots of conflict and highlighting possible solutions.
Course Objectives
- Analyze the concepts of peace, violence and conflict.
- Understand the concept, main theory and practice of peace journalism.
- Analyze the differences between traditional/confrontational journalism and peace journalism.
- Examine the importance of conflict resolution in peace journalism.
- Examine the dilemmas and obstacles of peace journalism (individual, structural and ideological).
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Critically understand the mainstream media coverage of conflict
- Define the core concepts of peace journalism
- Understand how peace journalism can contribute to conflict resolution
- Positively affect the peace-building process and mitigate conflict through reporting,
- Offer alternative approaches to negative stereotypes through reporting,
- Help the audience/citizens understand the deeper and underlying causes of conflicts, what proposals and ideas exist for their resolution.
Class/Learning activities
Lectures, workshops, in-class presentations, literature study, written assignments.
Workload
| Type of work | Description | Hours |
| Lectures | 10 3-hours lectures | 30 |
| Independent Study | Study of compulsory and optional literature | 50 |
| Exercises in class | Number and content of exercises to be discussed and arranged with the instructors | 100 |
| Written assignments-Presentations | To be discussed and arranged with the instructors | 120 |
| Total workload | 300 |
Assessment
| Type of assessment | Learning outcome | Impact on final grade | Date of assessment |
| Written assignment | 1-6 | 60% | 13th-15th week |
| Representations | 1-6 | 20% | 11th– 13th week |
| Exercises | 1-6 | 20% | Regularly |
Bibliography – Required Reading
- Wolfsfeld, Gadi (2004), Media and the Path to Peace, (Cambridge University Press) Spencer, Graham (2005), The media and peace: from Vietnam to the ‘War on terror’, (Palgrave, Macmillan)
- Allen, Tim & Jean Seaton (1999), The Media of Conflict, (Zed Books)
- Beebe, Shannon & Mary Kaldor (2010), The Ultimate Weapon is No Weapon: Human Security and the New Rules of War and Peace, (Public Affairs)
- Hawkins, Virgil (2008), Stealth Conflicts: How the World’s Worst Violence is Ignored, (Ashgate)
- Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, Jake Lynch, and Robert A. Hackett (2011), Expanding Peace Journalism, (Sydney University Press).
- Jake Lynch, Johan Galtung (2010), Reporting Conflict: New Directions in Peace Journalism, (University of Queensland Press).
- Lynch, Jake (2008), Debates in Peace Journalism, (Sydney University Press) Richard Keeble, John Tulloch, Florian Zollman (2010), Peace Journalism, War and Conflict Resolution, (New York, Peter Lang)
- Lynch, Jake and Annabel Mc Goldbrick (2005), Peace Journalism, (Hawthorn Press)
- Conflict and Communication Online (http://www.cco.regener-online.de) •Vol.5, No.2, 2006, “Peace journalism I: Theoretical approaches” •Vol.6, No.1, 2007, “Peace journalism II: Case studies and teaching modules” •Vol.6, No.2, 2007, “The peace journalism controversy”
- Galtung J. (2006), “Peace Journalism as an Ethical Challenge”, GMJ: Mediterranean Edition 1(2)
- Jake Lynch (2007), “What is so great about peace journalism?”, GMJ: Mediterranean Edition 1(1)
- Marquette International Law 93, 2009, “International Media and Conflict Resolution: Making the connection”.
- Peace and Policy Τεύχος 13, 2009, “Peace Journalism in Time of War”.
- Rukhsana Aslam (2011), “Peace journalism: A paradigm shift in traditional media approach”, Pacific Journalism Review, 17:119-139.
- Reporting the World. http://www.reportingtheworld.org
- Search for Common Ground. http://www.sfcg.org
- Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies. http://www.centrepeaceconflictstudies.org Center for War Peace and the News Media. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_War%2C_Peace%2C_and_the_News_Media
- Institute for War and Peace Reporting. www.iwpr.net