Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 12 x 1 hour lectures |
| Seminars / Tutorials | 6 x 2 hour seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 3,000 word essay | 50% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours 1 x 2 hour examination - (Students may, subject to Faculty approval, have the opportunity to resit this module, normally during the supplementary examination period. For further clarification please contact the Teaching Programme Administrator in the Department of International Politics.) | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to.
1. Critically assess Western historiography of the Balkans and understand its relevance to the wars in the former Yugoslavia
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the wars in the former Yugoslavia and their causes
3. Critically analyze dominant narratives of the wars
4. Discuss the role that Serbia and Milosevic played in the wars
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and its strengths and limitations
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of retributive and restorative justice and their respective roles in post-conflict societies
7. Discuss problems in achieving inter-ethnic reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia
8. Demonstrate an understanding of the challenges facing the region today
Brief description
The module will focus on three broad areas: the wars in the former Yugoslavia, the efforts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to deliver justice and the imperative of looking beyond retributive justice, and the quest for peace in terms of achieving inter-ethnic reconciliation.
Content
1. Introduction to the Module
2. An Overview of the Conflict in the former Yugoslavia
3. Assigning Blame: Milosevic and the Serbs
4. A Bottom-Up View of the Conflict: Everyday Life
5. The Quest for Justice: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
6. The Trial of Milosevic
7. Peace and Reconciliation I: Retributive Justice
8. Dealing with the Past; Or Not
9. Peace and Reconciliation II: Restorative Justice
10. Post-conflict societies in the former Yugoslavia
11. The Goal of EU membership
12. Conclusion
Seminars
Seminar 1: The Conflict in the former Yugoslavia
Seminar 2: The 'Butcher of the Balkans' and the Serbs
Seminar 3: Judging Criminal Leaders: The ICTY and Milosevic's Trial
Seminar 4: Retributive Justice, Reconciliation and Denial
Seminar 5: Beyond Justice as Punishment: Restorative Justice
Seminar 6 The Journey Towards EU Membership and Future Challenges
Aims
The module offers students the opportunity to learn about the wars in the former Yugoslavia, the role of Serbia and Slobodan Milosevic in those wars, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and some of the challenges and problems that now confront the region and its people, such as reconciliation and forgiveness and issues of guilt and responsibility.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | N/A |
| Communication | Students will learn how to present their ideas both verbally and in writing and how to present their arguments most effectively. They will understand the importance of information and clear communication and how to exploit these. They will know how to use the many sources of information available and how to use the most appropriate form of communication to best advantage. They will learn to be clear in their writing and speaking and to be direct about aims and objectives. They will learn to consider only that which is relevant to the topic, focus and objectives of their argument or discussion. Seminars will be run in groups where oral discussion and presentations will form the main medium of teaching and the emphasis throughout the module will be on student participation and communication. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | The module aims to promote self-management but within a context of assistance from both the convenor and fellow students alike. Students will be expected to improve their own learning and performance by undertaking their own research and to exercise their own initiative, including searching for sources, compiling reading lists, and deciding (under guidance) the direction of their essay and presentation topics. The need to conduct a seminar presentation and to meet an essay deadline will focus students' attention on the need to manage their time and opportunity resources well. |
| Information Technology | Students will be expected to submit their work in word-processed format. Also, students will be encouraged to search for sources of information on the web, as well as seeking sources through electronic information sources (such as Web of Science and OCLC). Students will also be expected to make use of the resources that will be available on the Blackboard VLE. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | The discussions in particular will help to develop students' verbal and presentation skills. Learning about the process of planning an essay and a presentation, framing the parameters of the projects, honing and developing the projects and seeing through to completion will contribute towards their portfolio of transferable skills. |
| Problem solving | Independent project work and problem solving will be one central goal of the module; the submission of an essay will require that students develop independent research skills as well as problem solving skills. The need to research and prepare seminar presentations will also enable students to develop independent project skills. The ability of students to solve problems will be developed and assessed by asking them to: adopt differing points of view; organize data and estimate an answer to the problem; consider extreme cases; reason logically; construct theoretical models; consider similar cases; look for patterns; divide issues into smaller problems. A final examination will ensure that an assessment of students' ability to work alone can be undertaken. |
| Research skills | The submission of an essay will reflect the independent research skills of students. The need to locate appropriate research resources and write up the results will also facilitate research skills. Research preparation for a seminar presentation will also enable students to develop independent project skills. A final examination will ensure that an assessment of the student's ability to work alone can be undertaken. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students have the opportunity to develop, practice and test a wide range of subject specific skills that help them to understand, conceptualize and evaluate examples and ideas on the module. These subject specific skills include: - Collect and understand a wide range of data relating to the module - Ability to evaluate competing perspectives - Demonstrate subject specific research techniques - Apply a range of methodologies to complex historical and political problems |
| Team work | Seminars will consist in part of small-group discussion where students will be obliged to discuss as a group the core issues related to seminar topics. Such class room debates and discussions are a vital component of the module learning experience. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6