Complex Humanitarian Emergencies (938M1)
Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
Module 938M1
Module details for 2009/10.
30 credits
FHEQ Level 7 (Masters)
Module Outline
This course interrogates the concept of ¿complex humanitarian emergencies¿ as a purportedly modern form of humanitarian response. The course is structured as a guide book, looking at the cultural artefacts, built environments, practices, and etiquette of the aid industry. The two main questions are: 1) What does attention to the material and spatial practices of humanitarian response reveal about the underlying tensions in the stated aims of humanitarian intervention? 2) How do the material and spatial practices influence the way in which subjectivities and power relations are constructed both locally and in global terms? It will use a wide range of media (graphic novels, fiction, policy documents, photographs), and a variety of historical examples to problematize the idea that CHE is a purely modern concept.
The course is structured around three pillars. First, the course will ¿map the field¿ of CHEs looking at the actors (UN, NGOs, private sector, armies) who carry out the intervention; the legal frameworks; and key historical events that have shaped the concept. Second, the course will look at the technologies of response - notably camps, compounds, and all terrain vehicles ¿ and argue that these material aspects of response have themselves contributed to construction and evolution of CHEs and associated categories such as refugees, IDPs, war profiteers, terrorists, civilians (both in real terms, and in minds of donors). Finally, the course will look at so-called recent developments in CHEs such as the increased securitization of humanitarianism, privatization and the advent of emergency as a Northern, as well as Southern phenomenon.
| Type | Timing | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Short Term Paper (5000 words) | Summer Term Week 1 Mon 16:00 | 100.00% |
Timing
Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.
Weighting
Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.
| Term | Method | Duration | Week pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Term | Seminar | 2 hours | 111111111100 |
How to read the week pattern
The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.
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