Year one
Foundations of Peace and Conflict Studies
This module will provide an advanced introduction to key concepts, ideas and debates in this field of study of peace and conflict studies, as well as introduce the student to contemporary debates and approaches to conflict analysis and intervention. Students will develop a theoretical grounding as well as the analytical skills to analyse, understand and apply different approaches and interventions in peace and conflict.
Peacebuilding: Concepts and Approaches
The purpose of this module is to provide students with a thorough grounding of the academic field of peacebuilding and the different approaches and interventions employed within it. Drawing on a range of international examples, the student will gain an understanding of the various definitions and theoretical understandings of peacebuilding and will develop a broad understanding of the various structural, economic, social and psychological impacts which require attention following violent conflict.
Year two
Foundations of Social Science Research
This module will introduce students to some of the key concepts, ideas and debates in social science research. The module will also introduce students to the main stages in the research process, the main approaches and methods and will give students a firm foundation in the basics of social research that will prepare them for other research methods modules.
Researching Conflict and Peace
This module will bring students to the point where they can understand the basic ethical and methodological issues involved in conducting research in divided societies. In particular the module will provide students with an in-depth understanding of key concepts across research methodologies and key issues in researching certain groups. The module will assist students in devising a research proposal and in the selection and application of relevant methods through which research questions outlined in the proposal can be addressed.
The Northern Ireland Conflict
This module is optional
This module on the Northern Ireland conflict aims to give students a detailed overview of the historical roots and longevity of the Northern Ireland conflict. It will also seek to provide the student with an understanding to enable them to explore and analyse the various participants in the conflict, their motivations, objectives and tactics. In addition it will seek to explore the role and use of political violence in the escalation and maintenance of the conflict, to identify the turning points, and to examine and critique the various components of the 1998 peace accord. Finally the module will offer an opportunity to examine some of the social and economic issues facing Northern Ireland society as it emerges out of decades of conflict.
Memory, Identity and Dealing with the Past
This module is optional
This module will provide the development of the analytical and theoretical skills to understand the importance of memory in constituting identities and how it can be used constructively to transform conflicts at individual, group and political levels.
Policy in Divided Societies
This module is optional
Policy debates are central to the way societies make sense of social and political conflicts in their midst. Drawing on a wide range of policy fields and country case studies, this module critically appraises how such policy dynamics unfold in the particular contexts of divided societies.
Racial politics of conflict and migration
This module is optional
The study of migration and 'race' is an essential element to scholarship in peace and conflict today. This module traces the legacies of colonialism, imperialism and historic migrations through engagement with case studies from around the world, identifying and understanding contemporary challenges.
Year three
MSc Dissertation
This module enables students to develop and apply research skills in a 15,000 word dissertation, that rigorously explores, critically analyses, and systematically addresses a research question or issue in the interdisciplinary field of peace and conflict studies.