About the course

Develop a critical understanding of conflict and humanitarian crises in this distance learning course. Gain skills in peacebuilding and humanitarian response.

This course addresses the core global challenges of conflict and humanitarian crises, with a practical focus on the tools and approaches that can respond to these challenges. You will examine in-depth the complexities involved in resolving conflict and promoting peace. Additionally, you will also explore sustainable policy solutions that address the needs of those displaced by conflict and natural disasters.

Drawing on case studies from the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, you will learn how the practical and policy-related challenges of responding to conflict and humanitarian crises play out in specific contexts.

Gain Key Skills

You will leave this course with:

• in-depth knowledge of humanitarian conflict response, and development policy and practice

• the professional and analytical skills to tackle political, ethical and practical tensions on the ground

• the skills and knowledge to evaluate diverse perspectives and tools for conflict response and humanitarian action across different settings

• an established professional network for continued knowledge-sharing and effective career development

The course is designed for those who already work in the field of humanitarian and conflict response, and recent graduates who aspire to do so. Graduates of the course could go on to work, or progress further, in this field. Learning and Teaching

The course is delivered in an inspiring format, that combines:

• highly structured and interactive online content

• face-to-face learning and networking at short residentials in Bath (compulsory) and Jordan (optional)

• intensive support from expert Bath academics throughout

Graduate prospects

This course provides an excellent background for those wishing to pursue a career in humanitarian, conflict response, or peacebuilding. It is equally relevant to those already working in the humanitarian and conflict fields, seeking to advance their careers with a deeper level of specialist knowledge.

You could go on to work with development or humanitarian NGOs, the United Nations and other inter-governmental organisations, or in conflict or humanitarian advisor roles in government departments such as DFID. You could also progress onto doctoral studies.

Graduates from this course have gone on to secure roles such as:

• Assessment Officer (Humanitarian Situation Monitoring) at REACH Initiative

• Women’s Development Coordinator at The Connection

• EU Partnerships and Advocacy Officer at the British Council

• Founder of The Washing Machine Project

Humanitarian Response and Human Rights Purpose:

This concentration prepares students to assess and solve humanitarian challenges using an integrated, collaborative framework. Students will learn to communicate quickly and effectively with stakeholders involved in issues related to humanitarian response and human rights, whether planning for or responding to disasters, or improving the conditions of populations in local, national or global environments.

Description:

Throughout history, there has been a constant string of disasters and crises befalling the human population, whether these have been caused by natural events or human activities. Also throughout that time, there have been responses, both positive and negative, to such disasters and crises. As the modern world has become increasingly interconnected, the international ramifications of these disasters and crises are increasingly recognized in human, economic and technical terms. The international community has developed and continues to develop norms and methods rooted in humanitarian response and human rights to address these situations.

Requirements:

Students wishing to receive attestation certifying the depth of their specialization in this particular area will be required to successfully complete at least four of the courses from the list below.

Please note that this list will be reviewed from time to time depending on the available course offerings at any given time. Students should check the availability of these courses with the SIA academic adviser and the individual course instructors. Students should also determine if there are prerequisites for enrolling in a particular course.

Courses:

Race, Ethnicity, and Social Justice

• AFAM 409/SOC 409 Racial and Ethnic Inequality in America

• AFAM 416 Race, and Science

• AFAM 431/HIST 431 Black Liberation and American Foreign Policy

• AFAM 445Y Politics of Affirmative Action

• AFAM 465 The Post-World War II Civil Rights Movement

• AFAM 469 Slavery and the Literary Imagination

• AFAM 501 Seminar in African American Studies

• AFAM 502 Blacks and African Diaspora

• AFAM 503 Sexual and Gender Politics in the African Diaspora

• AFAM 597/PLSC 597 Race and American Politics*

• AFR 434 War and Development in Africa

• AFR 443 Ethnic Conflict in Africa

• AFR 479 History of Imperialism and Nationalism in Africa

• ANTH 424 Andean Ethnology and Archaeology

• ANTH 448 Ethnography of the United States

• ANTH 456 Cultural Ecology

• ANTH 457/SOC 457 Jewish Communities: Identity, Survival, and Transformation in Unexpected Places

• CED 460W Policy, Politics, and Perspectives on Social and Environmental Responsibility

• CRIM 451 Race, Crime, and Justice

• FR 470 Race and Gender Issues in Literature in French

• GEOG 445 Geography of Human Rights

• HIED 502 Diversity and Equity in Higher Education

• HIST 409Y Antisemitism

• HIST 416 Zionism

• HIST 432 Between Nation and Empire: The Caribbean in the 20th Century

• HLS 803 Homeland Security: Social and Ethical Issues (World Campus class)**

• INTAF 597 Global Human Rights Movements and Non-violent Activism*

• INTAF 897 North Africa After the Arab Spring*

• LTNST 479 U.S. Latina/o Culture en Español

• PHIL 460 African American Philosophy

• PSYCH 432 Multicultural Psychology in America

• SOC 411 Racial and Ethnic Diversity and the American Family

• SOC 412 Crime, Social Control, and the Legal System

• SOC 419 Race and Public Policy

• SOC 422 World Population Diversity

• SOC 423 Social Demography

• SOC 425 Social Conflict

• SOC 428 Homelessness in America

• SOC 429 Social Stratification

• SOC 430 Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective

• SOC 432 Social Movements

• SOC 445 U.S. Immigration

• SOC 447 Ethnic Minorities and Schools in the United States

• SOC 529 Seminar in Race and Ethnicity

• SOC 551 Social Stratification and Social Change

• LWPER 951 Critical Race Theory/Feminist Legal Theory (Law course)***

Peace, Violence and Security

• AFR 434 War and Development in Africa

• AFR 443 Ethnic Conflict in Africa

• COMM 597 Peace and Social Change Communication

• HLS 805 Violence, Threats, Terror, and Insurgency (World Campus class)**

• HLS 811 Fundamentals of Homeland Security (World Campus class)**

• INTAF 597 Dealing with Dictators*

• INTAF 597 Global Human Rights Movements and Non-violent Activism*

• INTAF 897 Hard Choices and Unintended Consequences: National Security Decision-Making*

• INTAF 897 North Africa After the Arab Spring*

• INTAF 816 War and Peace

• PLSC 405H Genocide and Tyranny

• PLSC 451 Politics of Human Rights

• PLSC 474 Civil Liberties and Due Process

• PLSC 556 Civil Conflict

Humanitarian Response/Disaster Relief Management

• CAS 553 Disaster Communications

• EDSGN 452 Projects in Humanitarian Engineering (2 credits; HESE program)

• EDSGN 453 Design for Developing Communities (1 credit; HESE program)

• ENGR 451 Social Entrepreneurship (3 credits; HESE program)

• GEOG 479 Cyber-Geography in Geospatial Intelligence

• GEOG 858 Spatial Data Science for Emergency Management (World Campus class)**

• GEOG 882 Geographic Foundations of Geospatial Intelligence (World Campus class)**

• HLS 558 Disaster Psychology (World Campus class)**

• HLS 811 Fundamentals of Homeland Security (World Campus class)**

• IST 465 Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management IST 564 Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management (World Campus class)**

• PHP 410 Public Health Preparedness for Disaster and Terrorist Emergencies I (World Campus class)**

• PHP 510 Public Health Preparedness for Disaster and Terrorist Emergencies II (World Campus class)**

• PHP 527 Public Health Evaluation of Disasters and Bioterrorism (World Campus class)**

• PHP 831 Public Health Preparedness and the Emergency Operations Plan (World Campus class)

• SRA 471 Informatics, Risk, and the Post-Modern World

• SRA 480 Crisis Informatics

Global Health/Food Security/Environment

• AFR 434 War and Development in Africa

• AFR 440 Globalization and its Impacts

• AFR 444 African Resources and Development

• AFR 532 Environment and Livelihoods of Africa

• AGBIO 520W Agricultural Biosecurity: Protecting a Key Infrastructure

• BBH 402 African Health and Development

• GEOG 530 Human-Environment Seminar

• GEOGC 450 Risk Analysis in the Earth Sciences

• GEOSC 402Y Natural Disasters

• INTAF 511 Ethnical Dimensions in Food and Agricultural Governance

• INTAF 597 Global Health Security*

• INTAF 597 Global Health Policy*

• INTAF 597 Economic Development and the Environment

• NUTR 430 Global Food Strategies: Problems and Prospects for Reducing World Hunger

• PHP 527 Public Health Evaluation of Disasters and Bioterrorism (World Campus class)

• SOC 451 Health, Disease, and Society

• SOC 523 Global Health and Mortality

• WMSNT 452 Women’s Health Issues Migration

• AFAM 502 Blacks and African Diaspora

• AFR 527/SOC 527 Migration, Urbanization, and Policy in the Developing World

• GEOG 421 Population Geography

• GEOG 422W Globalization, Migration, and Displacement

• INTAF 597 Global Human Rights Movements and Non-violent Activism

• INTAF 597 Human Rights and Activism

• INTAF 597 Human Rights and Displaced Peoples

• INTAF 597 Property, Poverty and Development

• INTR 961 Asylum and Refugee Law (Law class; 2 credits)

• SOC 445 U.S. Immigration

• SOC 523 Internal and International Migration

• SOC 525 Immigration, Assimilation, and Inequality

• SOC 527 Migration, Urbanization and Policy in the Developing World

• AFAM 503 Sexuality and  Politics in the African Diaspora

• ANTH 476W/WMNST 476W Anthropology of Gender

• CED 420W/WMSNT 420W Gender and International Development  (faith base)

• FR 470 Race and Gender Issues in Literature in French

• GEOG 426W Gendered Worlds

• LWPER 951 Critical Race Theory/Feminist Legal Theory (Law course)***

• SOC 456/WMNST 456 Gender, Occupations, and Professions

• SOC 477/WMNST 477 Sociology of Sexuality  (faith base)

• WMNST 400N Debates in Contemporary Feminism

• WMNST 423 Sexual and Domestic Violence

• WMNST 428 Gender and Politics

• WMNST 455 Gender Roles in Communication

• WMNST 466 Human History

• WMNST 471 The Psychology of Gender  (faith base)

• WMNST 502 Global Perspectives on Feminism

• WMNST 507 Feminist Theory

• WMNST 516 US Women’s and Gender History

• WMNST 518 Global Black Feminist Thought

• WMNST 520 Gender and Nationalism  (faith base)

• WMNST 522 Gender and Sexuality  (faith base)

• WMNST 536 Gender and Science (faith base)

• WMNST 542 Girls’ Cultures and Popular Cultures

• WMNST 550 African Feminism

• WMSNT 412 Education and the Status of Women

• WMSNT 452 Women’s Health Issues