Curriculum of the Balkans Semester

ANTICIPATED CREDIT OFFERINGS (TOTAL CREDITS: 16)

Peace and Conflict Studies (16 Credits)
ENG 148 Literature and Human Rights
BAL/PHI War and Peace: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives
SWK/PCS 250 Peacemaking: Personal, Social, Global
SOC/PCS 371 Religion, Identity and Conflict
PCS 425 Internship

Sociology (8–12 Credits)
BAL Introduction to the Balkans: Religion, History, Culture, Politics
SOC 371/PCS 371 Religion, Identity and Conflict
SOC 425 Social Service Internship

Political Science (8–12 Credits)
BAL/PHI War and Peace: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives
POL Elective (Alternating Offerings)
POL 425 Internship in Government and Politics

Philosophy (8 Credits)
BAL/PHI War and Peace: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives
PHI/SOC 371 Religion, Identity and Conflict

English (8 Credits)
ENG 148 Literature and Human Rights
ENG 484 Figures in World Literature (with emphasis on authors
dealing with the theme of war)

Thematic Core Offerings
Global Understanding
Civic Responsibility
Core Literature

SEMESTER STRUCTURE

Students will take four courses together—in history, literature, philosophy/theology, and English—and they will choose one from among three options—Peace and Conflict Studies, Philosophy or Political Science—for their fourth course. Students will have the opportunity to audit one of the other two courses in the final course block.

The first, introductory course will run for two and a half months and will conclude with the “applied classroom” in mid-May. This travel portion of the course will take place in six cities in Eastern Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia where some of the heaviest fighting took place and where people are still struggling to find a way toward a peaceful and multiethnic future. Courses II and III will be taught in Zagreb and run consecutively during the months of March and April respectively. Course IV will be held in Dubrovnik and will run from mid May through mid June.

The semester will end with an international conference hosted annually by the Balkans program and organized in collaboration with Gordon’s other European programs.

Internships are available for those students whose degrees require them, such as Peace & Conflict Studies and Political Science students.

Course I
Introduction to the Balkans: History, Culture, Politics and Religion (4 credits)
Lead instructor: Petra Belkovic Taylor

This course will serve as a broad introduction to the history and culture of the Balkans with special attention to recent events and tensions of political and religious significance. The course will feature a series of guest lectures by local cultural, political, religious and literary figures and will involve regular excursions to points of interest both within Zagreb and in the surrounding areas. The course will conclude in mid-May with our 10-day journey through the Balkans. The course will also include weekly language instruction designed to help students become acquainted with local customs and orient themselves within the culture.

Course II
Balkan Literature: Poetics of War and Peace (4 credits)
Instructor: Petra Belkovic Taylor

Through reading the major works of Balkan literature, the second course will allow students to experience and better understand historical circumstances and life during and after wars in the Balkans. It will give flesh and bone to the theoretical concepts studied throughout the semester, and raise questions such as those regarding the relationships between nationalism and literature, an individual’s private life and volatile political regimes and the role of writers and written arts in times of war. The influences of other Eastern and Western European literatures (such as Russian, Polish, Czech, German, Austrian and French) that have had significant impact on the development of Balkan Literature will also be discussed.

Course III
War and Peace: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives (4 credits)
Instructor: James Taylor

This course will provide a broad theoretical understanding of war and peace through three main components: 1) a critical engagement with the theories of Just War and pacifism, 2) an examination of the changing conceptions of war and peace throughout the Western philosophical tradition, and 3) an investigation of a theologically-informed response to the recent war in the Balkans. Through this three-stage approach, students will wrestle with and attempt to formulate a distinctively Christian response to war, peace and the possibility of reconciliation.

Course IV
Instructors: Gordon Professors and Collaborators

The historic town of Dubrovnik will serve as the site for our fourth and final course. Nestled on the southern tip of Croatia, with Monte Negro to the south and Bosnia and Herzegovina just to the east, Dubrovnik is the ideal location to conclude our study of ethnic, political and religious conflict in the Balkans. As a pristine Mediterranean destination, this ancient stone city still recovering from the wounds of war will serve to facilitate reflection on the multilayered nature of life after conflict.

For this course block, students choose between:

Option 1: Sociology/social work
This course will focus on recent socio-political events and approaches to reconciliation. In consultation with Professor Judith Oleson (Peace and Conflict Studies), we expect that one among the following courses will be offered on alternating years.

SOC250 Peacemaking: Personal, Social, Global (4 credits)
Instructors: Judith Oleson or Daniel Johnson

Peace scholarship, research and diverse Christian perspectives on peacemaking as biblical calling. Conflict explored as transformational process in families, organizations and global contexts. Case studies of faith-based peacemakers, and women's narratives in conflict zones examined. Dialogue skills for personal and civic engagement taught and practiced. Fulfills core Civic Responsibility theme.

PCS350 Conflict Transformation and Reconciliation (4 credits)
Instructors: Judith Oleson or David Steele

PCS371 Religion, Identity and Conflict (4)
Instructors: Daniel Johnson or David Steele)

Option 2: Philosophy/theology
Course to be announced

Option 3: Political Science
Course to be announced

Option 4: English
ENG 484 Figures in World Literature (with emphasis on authors dealing with the theme of war)

CONFERENCE

Course IV will be followed by a conference/workshop week centered around one of the themes students have been introduced to during the semester. The conference speakers will include the visiting Gordon College faculty members as well as local and international scholars whose work is relevant to proposed theme. This week will also serve as the occasion for bringing students from the other Gordon in Europe programs together to meet and discuss their semester’s work.

The program will conclude in Zagreb where students will give final presentations and take part in a year-end celebration.