ASU-AIPS Faculty Workshop

The questions surrounding the study of peace are many, and the need for answers urgent.

What do we mean by peace and non-peace? What are the dynamics between the self and Other that can either lead to peace or non-peace? What is the place of such concepts as trust, hospitality, neighborliness, friendship and tolerance in transforming relationship between self and Other? Are there different cultures and traditions regarding the relationship of self and Other? Are there contemporary social ideologies that either limit or enhance the capacity for understanding between self and Other and for working toward peace? If so, what are they and how can we best study them? Pakistan is an ideal location to carry out this work. With its many different ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups, and its long history of both peace and non-peace, Pakistan offers numerous cases that, if studied and taught from a scholarly angle, hold tremendous possibilities for contributing to this field in ways that will benefit both Pakistan and peace studies globally.

The three-part seminar series we propose will address these questions from theoretical and methodological angles, with a clear teaching and/or research outcome. Each workshop will run for a full week, and will include readings, case studies, and guest lectures. Each seminar participant will be asked to specify a concrete outcome that they will produce from the workshops—either a new or revised syllabus or a research-based conference paper. A central component of each workshop are assignments designed to apply the readings, case study and lecture information to the syllabus or paper development, which will be presented and defended by the participants in a final culminating workshop. Proposed workshop topics and questions include:

Workshop I (December 2014): What is Peace? How does it apply in Pakistan?

Workshop Leader: Yasmin Saikia and Bill Silcock (will need AIPS support for both)*

Venue: Lahore

This workshop is designed to explore the meanings of peace from multiple and often conflicting perspectives. Peace is often perceived as a universal monolith; preserved as an icon and an ideal, it is thought of as a singular vision for humanity to realize. Yet just as we study different types and forms of violence—political, social, religious, economic, cultural, and environmental—this workshop will examine different modes of peace and explore their relevance through different sites of contestation. Some of the theoretical questions that will be engaged include: the relationship of religious and secular notions of peace and human rights and their application to the political and social sphere; the notion of everyday ethics and adab to the cultivation of peace; diverse systems of justice, particularly systems of restorative justice, and their role in transforming conflict; issues of economics, including trade, tourism, regionalization and globalization in exacerbating or reducing conflict; and the role of media in peace and conflict. Relevant issues for case studies include: Sunni-Shia relations; the impact of the drones on youth outlook; the relationship of India and Pakistan; the role of the media; and the need for an enemy in the construction of identity.

Workshop II (Spring 2015): What methods can we use to study peace? How can we incorporate social media in our teaching and research?

Workshop Leader: Chad Haines, maybe accompanied by Hasan Davulcu (we will arrange for his ticket through ASU)

Venue: Islamabad, AIPS

This workshop will explore different methodological approaches from the humanities and social sciences for studying peace. Some of the methods that will be explored include qualitative methods such as ethnographic, historical, and discourse studies; quantitative methods such as survey research; and new methods that combine traditional and computational/digital methods. Workshop participants will learn to distinguish between interpretive, analytic and normative studies, with a particular emphasis on exploring how different methods produce different outcomes. A central component of this workshop will be a field research practicum that will involve participant observation. Specifically, seminar participants will be asked to consider ways in which different communities, including the local, state or national government, produce peace in the public or civic space. Seminar participants will also be shown how to use computer-based technology to produce a “web ethnography” so as to examine more critically claims about social media versus what is happening on the ground.

Workshop III (early Summer 2015): Building Peace into Education and Research: Peer-Review of Syllabi/Conference Papers.

Workshop Leader: Benjamin Broom and Yasmin Saikia (will pay on her own)

Venue: Gujrat University

This workshop will be structured around a peer-review process in which seminar participants will present either the syllabus that they created or their conference paper for critique and revision. During the previous workshops, sessions will be held that focus on framing questions for teaching and research that incorporate relevant theoretical and methodological approaches, and demonstrating how those components are reflected in the different academic products. Participants preparing syllabi will be asked to defend their work through the following components: 1) syllabus outline; 2) annotated bibliography; 3) assignments, their objectives and relevance; 4) teaching one topic from the syllabus; and 5) how they incorporated use of the internet in their syllabus. Participants preparing a conference paper will be asked to defend the following: 1) Thesis: Why is this topic and approach important? How does it contribute to the understanding of peace and Pakistan? What is the original contribution the work is making? 2) Revisions: How do you know when your work needs revision? Who is there to help you? What is your process for revising? 3) Next Steps: What do you want to do next--submit to conference or revise it for publication? What is your plan for accomplishing that goal? Who will help you? 4) Sharing Research in a Public Medium: How do you revise scholarly work for public consumption? What are the components of a good public piece?