Uganda and Rwanda: Peace and Conflict Studies in the Lake Victoria Basin (Summer)

Key Features

Students on the Uganda and Rwanda: Peace and Conflict Studies in the Lake Victoria Basin program explore the history and causes of conflict and the measures that have been instituted to promote recovery and reconciliation. Students move beyond the conventional rhetoric and assumptions typically associated with the conflict in northern Uganda and the 1994 Rwanda genocide to a deeper understanding of the relevant causes, consequences, and outcomes, including current prospects for peace.

Peace and conflict
In the program’s thematic course, students learn from faculty at Makerere University, Gulu University, and the National University of Rwanda, as well as from leaders of civil society groups and NGOs involved with issues of peace and conflict in the region. The key themes considered in the course include:

Political, social, local, and international dimensions in conflict causation
Political and social construction and reconstruction of ethnic identity and its role in conflict causation
State, society, and NGO relations in conflict prevention and mitigation
Traditional justice and international justice and their efficacy and relevance
Local and international efforts for conflict mitigation, recovery, and reconciliation

Program resources and in-country partners
In the past, program lecturers have come from institutions such as:

Makerere University
Gulu University
National University of Rwanda
The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission
NGOs such as World Vision, CARE International, Justice and Reconciliation Group, and Invisible Children
USAID
Millennium Villages Project
Nakivaale Refugee Settlement

Broad exposure to the region
The program spends time in multiple locations in both urban and rural areas of Uganda and Rwanda, and students should expect to travel frequently. This travel provides students with broad exposure and access to multiple communities and perspectives in Uganda and Rwanda. Students examine similarities and differences in how and why communities respond to situations of conflict and reconciliation.

Credits: 6

Duration: 6 weeks

Program Base: Gulu, Uganda, and Kigali, Rwanda

Prerequisites: No prerequisites, but students will benefit from a background in peace and conflict resolution, social justice, human rights, and/or African history and politics. Psychological stability and emotional maturity are required in order for students to co Read more...