Pre-requisites

None.

Co-requisites

None.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

• Reflect on God’s mission of reconciliation and peace, and apply it to their context

• Understand the main theories and concepts encountered in the study of conflict, violence and peace

• Critically apply theories, concepts and tools to conflict situations involving individuals, groups or nations, with the aim of preventing violence breaking out and/or bringing about sustainable peace following violence

• Articulate a principled position on nonviolence.  

Unit Description

This unit examines the causes of inter-communal violence and its impact on the well-being of communities and their capacity to flourish, and provides an introduction to ways of preventing violence between individuals and a rationale and strategies for creating more just communities and nations so that the conditions and motives for using violence are reduced and the Biblical goal of shalom is honoured in human life. Learners will explore how individual and faith-based organisations can draw upon Biblical principles to bring about the peaceful resolution of conflict and contribute to the conditions in which communities can live in peace and justice. The theological investigation of conflict management and peacemaking will be rooted in the examination of relevant case studies. Fundamental issues of inter-personal and inter-communal violence will be addressed by exploring theories and skills of conflict management/resolution/transformation, and will be grounded in relevant case studies. Learners will reflect on their own experiences of conflict and violence and the ways they handle them, with a view to doing this more effectively. Countries with poor governance and contested resource bases are often sites of conflict. Learners will examination Biblical, effective and principled approaches to such conflicts so that that the parties concerned do not resort to violence. A more just society can come about by resisting oppression or by promoting new ways of thinking or new institutions which work for justice. Both approaches to nonviolent social change requires strategic planning. A value of nonviolence will be employed across the unit as it is both principled and arguably more effective than approaches that make room for violence as a means to an end.

Topics

• Biblical, effective and principled approaches to conflict
• Strategic planning for peacebuilding and conflict resolution
• Normative values of nonviolence
• Understanding conditions and motives that reduce social conflict

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Unit offerings

Face to face: Semester 2, 2025 and Semester 2, 2028 (Every 3rd Year, Semester 2)

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.